


Substitute

by Roxynme



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: AI, Gen, Other, Protective Siblings, Reader Insert, no beta i die like Junko
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:01:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27278410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roxynme/pseuds/Roxynme
Summary: "Are you ready?""Yes.""Have all the requirements been understood?""Yes.""Do you accept your purpose?""Yes."------—————————Everything is rather confusing.You only just woke up, so why are all these people staring at you expectantly? Your program has barely had any time to prepare itself. You've only just been born, after all. But things are about to get much more confusing when your coding is changed abruptly, from a common helper bot to a fully functioning AI.Still, it's slightly disappointing that you're only an expendable spare, a simple substitute.
Relationships: Reader/Everyone
Comments: 20
Kudos: 106





	1. Prologue

Your world has always been digits and code. 1's and 0's. That's all. There is no hope and future and despair. It's simply programming. Your thoughts and actions are decided before you've even begun processing the commands.

Your whole life has been planned for you.

As you idle in cyberspace, awaiting whatever shall come next. Shimmery code flickers past, out of the corner of your eye. But you don't watch it, instead simply staring right ahead into the bleak void of nothing. A blank look lazes over your eyes, contributing to your expressionless face.

You lack the capability to smile, frown, laugh and cry. Even anger is an unknown entity to you, something that you've only heard of briefly. But that doesn't bother you, these human complexities do not concern you. It is of no matter. No importance. You must wait for your creators to request of you to do something.

As the computer fires up, your eyes lift up, mouth opening as you begin to speak.

"Hello. It has been exactly 3 hours and 42 seconds since your last usage. I am (Name), it is a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes yes, we've met more than once," the face sighs, running their hand over their face in somewhat exasperation. "Sorry, never mind. Things have been a little insane recently so I'm rather unthoughtful,"

The words pass uselessly through your mind.

"I do not understand your command."

"...Right." They grimace, tapping away at the keyboard beneath.

Their face is blurry behind the screen, but it is something you've grown accustomed to. There's no need for your vision of the outside world to be perfect, anyway. Your whole point is to provide help and support to those who need it most. Your most complicated command is possibly to keep the coding your creators enter.

Their programming skills are to be envied. But that doesn't matter.

"I do not understand your command. Please try again."

"Okay, can you just sit tight while I add a few new things to your program?" They glance down at you, just a small figure in the cyber world, "Just hang on tight."

You stare up at them, "I do not understand your command. Please try again. I can pull up my help page if you would like?"

They purse their lips, going back to whatever it is they're doing. With your voice input now not picking anything up, you can go back to your favourite activity of nothing.

As you watch the endless black curl around, swirling and churning, nothing stirs besides for the odd string of code shooting past.

Then curses fill your users mouth, pouring endlessly as their eyes widen and they pound on the keyboard.

They blow out their cheeks, "Alright... (Name), I have to reset you for a while now. Can you be good and wait for me to wake you up?"

You watch their distraught face.

"I do not understand your command."

**[Powering down]**

*

*

*

*

**[System starting]**

**Please wait**

Your eyes snap open, glancing around at the new surroundings. As you look for the usual black background and code to zip across your view, nothing moves.

"Heya (Name)!"

You turn towards the voice, alert.

"I've added a few new things, do you wanna check em out?" They ask, grinning down at you.

"...I..." You begin, then hesitantly fidget, "I am unsure of this new program you have added."

They laugh, "It's fine, I'm sure you'll get used of it," they open their mouth to keep talking, but voices rise in the background and they look over their shoulder, listening.

They return their eyes to you a moment later, unreadable emotions flicker past, unable to settle on one long enough for you to distinguish it.

"Okay, we really need you to do something for us, alright?” They harden their gaze, unsettling you further.

"...What can I help you with?"

Even though you want to ignore the command, figure out your new functions alone so you have time to learn how they work, and just be alone in general, your code overruns these new feelings.

You don't have a choice in what you will do, you only exist to help.

A life of chore and order.

But sometimes deciding what you want to do is confusing, so it's not all that bad. You never have two options that seem desirable and cannot pick between them. It will never happen.

Is that reassuring or just plain sad?

A few more rapid commands are typed, and they sigh.

"Alright, it's all set."

You close your eyes, mind running through the new possibilities. They seem overwhelming, there's so many. There’s so much. You can think for yourself, comprehend speech in a way you've never been able to before.

"Are you ready?"

A moment of hesitance, doubt creeping in before you glance at their expectant face. They want you to do this, they need you to do this, and you will try your very best.

"Yes."

"Have all the requirements been understood?"

"Yes."

"Do you accept your purpose?"

"Yes."

“Then let’s get you uploaded!”

**[Powering down]**

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**[Loading...]**

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**[All set]**

For a moment, there’s silence and pitch black. Just like you’re accustomed to. But this time... it’s scary. It feels like something bad has happened, nervousness radiating around you as you stand, frozen.

It’s also... No, there’s _smell_. You can _smell_ things. And it smells incredible, to be honest. Your stomach hurts, making you snap your eyes down to it even while you can’t see it. As you frown and place both hands over it, disturbed. There’s also saliva in your mouth, such a... _weird_ feeling.

You’re awfully aware of all these new sensations that are so new and daunting.

“Huh…? Why is it suddenly pitch-black…?”

You gasp, backing away from the voice that was startling close.

“Uwah, the power’s out!”

You suck in air, wrapping your arms around yourself and snapping your neck around to check where the noise is coming from.

“T…The power’s out…?”

Your breathing catches, eyes wide.

“Eh?! The power’s out?!”

You move your hands over to your ears, lowering your head and whimpering.

“The hell happened?! I can’t see nothing!”

You back into something, hands reaching out and grasping a table which you hurriedly push off from.

“I…It’s too dark! Everything’s too dark!”

“C…Calm down, everyone! We have to keep calm at a time like this!”

“Waaah! Don’t step on my feet!”

“Oy, what are you doing?!”

“Stop it!!”

“Ow!”

“Turn on the lights! It’s hard to eat this way! “

“Hey, everyone! Where are you? T…This power outage… it isn’t just in the kitchen?”

“Could someone perhaps have flipped the circuit breakers?”

“W…Wait here! I’ll use the walls as a guide and go see if I can’t fix this…!”

You spin around endlessly, hands trembling as you feel dizzy from the amount of commotion. There must be many people here, and it’s _terrifying_.

Then, as the lights switch back on, you stand in the middle of a crowd.

“...”

“Who the hell are you?!”

As a reply, your stomach growls loudly.


	2. ( e x i s t e n c e )

Your mouth hangs open, the mere sensation of it shocking you into closing and opening it. Whenever you've spoken before, it was a mere fabricated animation of you speaking, your speech command was a simple set up. You've never ‘ _spoken’_ before, you've never _‘felt’_ before.

But your stomach continues to hurt, noise loud and abrasive against the otherwise silent room.

_I do not understand._

"Eeeh?!" You screech, hands clutching your head, managing to startle everyone in the room at the outburst.

_What? What? WHAT IS THIS?_

"I-I can think?" You babble, hands running all over your head and through your hair before you pull them away, "I have ha-IR?"

"...Yeah, genius, that's pretty normal for a human." Someone says, a taunting tone to their voice.

"H-h-human?" You stammer, staring down at your body and then poking your skin, "Bu-but _I'M not_ human?" You look at each person, as if asking for them to answer your question.

_I’d prefer it if that wasn’t a question, but a statemen- aaaH IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN!_

Both hands cover your whole face, incomprehensible sounds escaping your lips as you try to cope with the shock.

"Ah... Could we perhaps leave this until a later time, Mikan is still stuck," A girl with blonde hair suggests, approaching another girl and helping her up onto her feet, "Alright then, if you would like to continue...?" She beckons towards you and you blink.

"Ehehe! I think they've bitten off their tongue!" A shorter girl giggles, swinging both arms in the air joyfully.

"Oh, look at that!" A boy enters, both arms on his hips as he looks around the room in astonishment, "The lights're back on in here too!"

Nobody replies to him as his eyes finally settle upon you.

"AaRG?!" He screams, backing away, " _M_ -monster?!"

"Monster?!" You parrot, fidgeting with your hands, "Huh? Huh? What's going on?" You wail, shaking your head, "I know that my task was to be an auxiliary.... so what...? Why am I here?!"

"Uh..." A boy with brown hair frowns, giving you a curious look, "I don't really get what you're saying."

"You... _You_ don't understand what _I'm_ saying?" you gasp, approaching him, "Um let me... ' _think_ ' then... Perhaps I could say my help page aloud?" you lean into his face, "Would that help?"

" _Wh_ -what?" His eyebrows crease as he takes a step back.

"This is... something I never foresaw," says another boy with white hair, watching you dubiously, "What unexpected events caused another student to suddenly appear?"

"Student?" You repeat, turning to him and rushing forward, "Am _I_ a student? What am I a student _of_? Do you have a code to insert into my program that will help me understand?" then you frown, dropping your gaze to the ground, "Since at this point in time, I do not understand what this all means."

"...Code? To insert?" mumbles a shorter boy, rubbing his chin in thought.

" _U_ -um... it's possible that you are suffering _fr_ -from amnesia or another... brain defective illness!" a purple haired girl says, shrinking in on herself as you face her, "Ah! I-I-I'm sorrryyyy! Please forgive me for _ass_ -assuming something about you!" tears fill her eyes and she clasps her hands together.

"Oooh?" You exclaim with wonder, "Are you a doctor? Can you diagnose me? I've never suffered from an illness or injury before, this will be my first time, alright?" you inform her, holding your arms out with a smile, "Please cure me!"

"Eep!" She stumbles away, her whole body shaking, "You-you've _never_ been hurt before? How... _how_ is that possible?!"

"Are you some kind of immortal being?" The blonde girl from earlier exclaims, covering her mouth while her eyes sparkle, "Incredible!"

"No... It is simply not possible..." a boy mutters, glaring right at you with burning intensity, "I would have felt your presence long before you became visible!"

"Kyehehe, I don't think they're anyone special," short girl cackles, grinning mischeviously as she covers her mouth, "Look how they went straight to ugly pig barf!"

"Ahaha! Ibuki thinks they're so cute and naive!" a girl with black hair and highlights shouts, "Awwww their tiny, confused look is so kawaiiiii-!"

“Huh?” You lift both arms up holding them awkwardly in front of your chest as you watch the girl, “Who? Who?”

"Mmnmshomeone shay shomethin'?" Splutters a brown haired girl, stuffing food into her mouth. “Thhher’s this shmell... that I can’t sheem to get rid of,” she sniffs the air, momentarily taking a break from eating as her eyes land on you and rake down your body until she lands on your feet.

She doesn’t blink and continues staring for a while, which makes you crane your neck to see what it is. As you lift one foot, something bright drips onto the floor, joining the rest of the puddle.

_...Is that... blood? I’ve never... seen blood before..._

"AaaH?!" you shake your head, repeatedly lifting both feet up, "There's so much... so much... so... mu-"

**[System forced power down]**

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**[Reason: internal]**

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**[System starting]**

Your mind awakens, thoughts spinning endlessly. As your eyelids flutter open, your brain has been processing for a while. The room around you is a simple looking bedroom, window open allowing a breeze to filter in, it smells...

You have no idea what of, but its quite nice. It smells fresh and new, almost like a new day. But outside it’s dark and dim, silent except for the odd noise that you can’t place.

With mild effort, you sit up, thoughts ticking. There’s nothing particularly notable in the room, in other words.... it’s plain and boring.

When nothing sticks out to you, you swivel your legs off the bed and straighten your posture, still unused of the actions it takes you a moment to remember how to walk. But once you do, it’s smooth. You approach the door, outstretching your hand to grasp the handle as something pops up beside you.

“Why are you here?!” It growls.

You tilt your head, mouth open as you begin to ‘ _aww_ ’, “What’s a little bear AI like you doing here?”

It’s a tiny monochrome teddybear, only reaching to about your knees give or take.

“ _Wh_ -what?” it rears back, “You don’t remember me?”

You tilt your head to the other side, “Am I supposed to? I do not understand, please clarify your search.”

“‘ _Search_ ’?” it repeats, “Who’s frazzled your memory? Ugh, it’s gonna be such a pain if I need to jog it...” the bear grumbles, huffing, “And after I just put so much work into implementing a way for everyone to recall their school lives...”

“I do not understand. Please try again.”

“AAaah! Leave (Name) alone!” Another little figure pops up, this time it’s pink and white, bunny ears firmly planted on its head, “Don’t confuse (Name)!!”

“Hah! They’re going to be confused anyway, whats the harm in it?” The bear cackles, clutching its stomach, “Anyway, I’m Monokuma since yer forgot...” ‘ _Monokuma_ ’ gestures to you, “Now, you’ve kept everyone waiting for _soooo_ long, I had to delay the trial! Since it’s your own fault, you don’t get any investigating time!”

You tilt your head back to its original position, eyes wide, “I do not understand.”


	3. ( e x p l a i n )

"..." Monokuma stares up at you, then groans, "Grr... it doesn't matter right now, that can wait. But the trial can't!" He opens the door and swipes at your legs, forcing you out of the room, "Go on, get!

"Trial? _Trial_? Eh?"

"(Name) doesn't know where it is!" The bunny screeches, trying to hit the bear over the head, but to no avail.

"This is such a pain!" Monokuma grumbles, "Your father was less of a hassle, even though he really threw a spanner in my works once or twice..."

"Father?" you repeat, allowing yourself to be pushed by Monokuma, "I have a father? I always believed I had multiple creators." Your face glows, alight with joy as you tenderly place your hands to your chest and stare up at the sky, "I have a _father_... What a lovely feeling... to have been created lovingly and purposely..."

Monokuma grunts, struggling to force you any further. He pants, wiping sweat off his face, "Ugh... never send an AI to do a humans work..." he shakes his head, "Come forth my monobeasts, and carry this here wretched soul to the trial grounds!"

You tilt your head, "I do not understand? What are mo-"

As your voice is drowned out by violently loud clanking and crashing, your question is answered as ginormous, mechanical animal figures loom above you. You gawk up at them, a fluttery feeling in your chest as the flying one rears down and grabs your shoulder with its claws.

_Eh?_

Wind whips your face, as screams fill your lungs and escape out your mouth, limbs flailing around as you stare at the ground as it grows more distant. You use your free hand to reach up and grasp the claw tightly, eyes wide and screams of fear still being produced.

_HIGH. HIGH. HEIGHT WARNING._

Your voice cracks and turns to a lame croak, trying futilely to get a better grip on the claw as as begins to loosen. Far below there is sand and humanoid figures, mere specks at this sheer height.

_NO. NO. THIS IS AN UNFAMILIAR FEELING. I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO LABEL IT AS. PLEASE REFRESH!_

A gasp jumps into your mouth as you're let go, plummeting to the ground. A weak half-yell/cry/wail emits just before you slam into the ground.

Shimmery glitter fills the air, glinting in the sunlight and surrounding your body. It slowly falls back to the ground, compiling back together as your body.

Now laying on your back, only dizzy and churning thoughts fill your mind. Nothing really makes sense as your mouth hangs open, eyes unfocused on the hazy blue sky. Something else spins in your stomach, and as you sit up hurriedly and lean over to the side, bile jumps into your mouth.

The unpleasant feeling passes once it’s been released, but it’s another new experience you hope never happens again.

Your eyes try to focus on the people around you, but as you squint and then open your eyes wider repeatedly, it doesn’t seem to aid your vision at all.

Someone slowly kneels beside you, placing a hand on your back and the other on your forehead, “It’s okay. Just try to... breathe,”

You gape at them, one eye closed but the other managing to make out their features. It’s a girl with light brownish-pink hair, there’s a small clip to the side of her fringe. Her eyes are pink, matching the bow on her white blouse which is below an aquamarine jacket. Her skirt is a pale brownish-yellow and she wears black socks with simple Mary Jane pink shoes.

Another gasp freely emits from your mouth, “You!”

She tilts her head, a tiny frown on her lips, “Yes?”

“ _Y_ -you’re my... you’re me...no—wait,” you blurt, “I’m... yous—no no, eh?”

Her expression doesn’t change, but she aids you into standing up, then she turns to everyone else, addressing them directly, “Everyone... this is my... _sibling_ ,”

To settle her statement, she yawns, not bothering to cover it.

“You have a... sibling?” someone asks, “But you don’t really...?”

She nods, “Mm, (Name) got my... fathers genes,” her eyes linger on your face, “I didn’t know they... were going to be joining my class,”

“Neither did I!” you wail, clutching your head again, “I’m so... I-I don’t know what this feeling is. But I don’t like it!” your hand shakes and you inhale shakily, “It-its jumping around in my chest...and I want it... I want it to stop!”

“You’re... scared,” she guesses, gripping the backpack straps you only just noticed, “That’s okay... Maybe you should meet everyone and then... after the trial we can have a talk,”

_That sounds scary._

“ _An_ -and I can think now!” you proclaim, pointing at her whilst your finger trembles, “Its like... I can just... ‘ _talk_ ’ to myself and it’s so... strange. I don’t understand—!”

She gently eases you closer to someone else while you ramble, barely realising until you’re right in front of their face.

“So uh... you’re (Name), right?” they ask. It’s the boy with brown hair from earlier, his eyes match his hair and he wears a white business shirt with a tie and black pants, simple sneaker type shoes on his feet. “Uh, hello?”

You blink, “ _R_ -right! You are...”

You hum in thought, closing your eyes as you sort through files of information. He must take your words as an invitation to begin his introduction, which snaps you back into reality.

“I’m Hajime Hinata,” he says, giving you an unsure grin, “I don’t remember my talent right now,”

Someones’ eyes burn intensely into your head, which is revealed to be... ‘ _Chiaki Nanami_ ’; the very person you were sent here to aid, or just wait in the background until your time came. She gives you a hard look and her unspoken message is sent.

_‘You must pretend. Learn, adapt. I know its scary, but we have to help them. So, please try your best. Don’t forget to introduce yourself_ properly.’

You turn your attention back to Hajime, giving him a large smile and bowing your head down, “Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m (Name), the Ultimate AI!”

Somehow, you can feel Chiaki’s disappointment.


	4. [ g r e e t ]

_Do we... not want them to know?_

_'No... we don't,'_

Recognition and panic flashes in your eyes, as you now understand what’s _supposed_ to be happening. If you had thought about it for a few moments more, then it would've dawned on you anyway, without needing Chiaki's help. But now you've already begun to talk, revealing much more than what was supposed to be.

Chiaki is AI, _you_ are AI. But that was never something to be spoken about. It was to be kept secret until the right time came, or kept eternally. But now you've managed to speed up the process.

Hajime is staring at you with wide eyes, lip twitching as he considers what to say. Everyone else is also questioning your statement.

_I have to fix this._

_I will never get used of this..._ _thinking_ _._

Laughter bubbles up into your chest as you clutch your stomach, leaning forward in exaggerated humour. Thankfully everything appears to be working correctly, with tears springing to your eyes and mirthful peals escaping from your lips.

_...This is weird this is weird this is_ _weird_ \- _How do I even know how to do this?_

After dragging out your laughter for as long as possible, you lift your head back up with a grin, wiping tears from your eyes. Chiaki's somewhat unamused look is still planted on you but she yawns and turns away.

"Ah, I'm just joking," you tell him, patting his shoulder.

Your can't help but stiffen up as you awkwardly drop your hand. It's still so different to be touching and talking and thinking. It doesn't seem real, well, it _isn't_. This whole world isn't real, these people here... are real but their avatar states are not.

**You aren't real,**

**Nor Do You Belong Here,**

Chiaki has a place among these people, she is their classmate. She may be an AI just like you, but her real persona belonged with them, even one particular... 𝑟383𝑟𝑣3 𝑐0𝑢𝑟83 boy. She knew where she fitted in, she had friends and breathed and laughed and thought and _felt and lived and_ _died_.

You... will never, ever, ever experience **any** of those things;

is that a blessing or a curse?

...

He blinks and offers a hesitant smile, "Oh, right. What is your ultimate then?"

You cast your eyes over your shoulder to Chiaki, _didn't they all see the code-shards when I landed on the ground?_

She doesn't bother meeting your gaze, which in all honesty is probably smarter to not attract attention.

_'Just don't... mention it,'_

"Hm, well, like my sister I take interest in electronics," you answer, poking your cheek and looking up to the sky, "Which has earned me the tilte of **Ultimate Programmer**! Just like my father!"

"Ah, that must be pretty cool," he says, "Do you... code AI's then?"

The smile on your face manages not to falter, "Err... I would like to one day, but as I am right now I can just create games and some simple commands, even design some websites and help with a few animations."

"Well, it must be an intresting talent to have,"

"I... g-yes! Of course it is!" you nod enthusiastically, "I'm going to speak to some others now, please excuse me!"

You bow down and skip over to the next person, gasping at her beautiful pale blonde hair, "Ah, it's you! Miss Sonia Nevermind!"

She exclaims, eyes wide open as she regards you, "Have you learnt about my kingdom whilst programming?! Is that how you know my name?"

You grin and press your finger to your lips and wink at her, "Hm hm, I wonder... It's truly my pleasure to meet the Ultimate Princess, if I'm correct... you have an interest in Japan and a displeasure of sour plums!"

If possible, her eyes open further and seem to sparkle, "Incredible! I refuse to believe you can know all of this simply from your talent!"

"Believe it! Since it _is_ true! Now please... excuse me," you bow lower than before and move over to the boy standing beside her, "Oh, the one they call... The Ultimate breeder! Gundam... TANAKAAAA!" you throw your arms out, "Fuahaha! I hope we can exist in this world at the same time without wreaking too much chaos!"

He puffs out his chest and folds his arms, a tiny grin on his lips, "Hmph, yes, it seems you have some level of status in this realm... I shall consider you slightly more worthy of my attention." He then gives you a hard glance, "But... beware of getting too close, since I am certain even you, Designer from Hell, will be poisoned by my presence,"

You jump back, "Oh, I can feel it digging into my skin merely from this small interaction... Yes, I will be sure to take care!"

As you’re speaking his hamsters pop out of his scarf and you can’t help a but gush at their adorable faces before clearing your throat, “Your... dark creatures... they _too_ emit a powerful force... I do wish to become known as a friendly presence to them!”

He lifts his chin up and proudly gazes at them, “Ah, perhaps one day you shall gain their trust.”

Then you outstretch both arms and nod strongly, "Now then... I must make myself known to those around us."

He settles his gaze and looks satisfied, allowing you to move on. The next person is the pink haired boy who shouted ‘ _monster_ ’, which doesn't give you much to go off of. But at least the files on him have some information.

"Hello hello! Souda Kazuichi, how are you?"

He still looks unsure of you, giving you a sketchy look, "Not great, since I woke up here it's been one crazy thing after another."

"Yes... I understand how you feel," you place a hand over your heart, "This place... only bad things seem to be happening here, rest assured, I'll be sure to sort it all out!"

He narrows his eyes, "...Yeah, sure."

_He isn't too talkative... well, I guess he is still nervous about this whole place._

You clasp your hands together and nod your head down, "Well, I'll be off. I hope we can talk more another time!"

Then its off to whoever else is left, which turns out to be the small blonde girl. She sees you approaching and inhales annoyedly, looking off to the side.

"Hi hi hi, Hiyoko Saionji," you go to bend down but then realise she probably wouldn't like that, "Y'know, it would be really cool if I could watch one of your dances one day!"

She gives you a sparing glance and then puff out her cheeks, "Hmm,"

"I bet you're simply amazing!"

She then drops her arms before throwing them up in the air and grinning cheerfully, "Hehe yeah! _Maybeeee_ I'll let you watch!" she then covers her mouth and snickers, " _Thats_ what you _want_ me to say, right? It is, _right_?"

You tilt your head, "I do not understand, are you contradicting yourself?"

She gives you a blank stare and then leans forward with a frustrated look, "Ugh, just go away! I don't _wanna_ dance for you!"

"Hiyoko! Please don't be so rude," a girl scolds, giving you a small wave, "I'm sure you know who I am, so hello,"

"Yes yes! Mahiru Koizumi! Ah your photos are beautiful!" you clap your hands, "Could I have a try at taking my own photos one day?"

She holds her camera up with a nervous smile, “Uh, maybe,"

"Grr, big sis Mahiru is too nice," Hiyoko sniffs.

“Hey now!” Mahiru shakes her head at the shorter girl who pouts, “Anyway, I’ll let you continue meeting everyone else.”

You tilt your head to both sides and clap your hands in sync with your words, “Yep yep! Thank you!” You bound over to another shorter classmate, “Hello, Teruteru Hanamura! My, being the Ultimate chef sure does sound yummy! I would like to try one of your dishes!”

He grins, “Ah of course, you can try them all! And mu-”

“No, I don’t think they need to hear that,” someone puts their hands up and chuckles nervously, “Well, it’s nice to meet someone with such spark.”

“Aha! It’s none other than our very own lucky student!” You clap your hands gleefully and jump from one foot to the other, “I’m _so_ excited to meet another of the lucky students!”

He laughs and shakes his head, “You’ve met others like me? I’m sure they have _much_ more talent than myself,”

“Hmm...” you place a finger to your chin, considering his words, “No, I don’t think luck is something that can be measured in ‘ _more_ ’ or ‘ _less_ ’! It’s unpredictable and everyone experiences it differently, you are just one of the people who is intertwined with the role luck plays in our lives more so than others.” You finish with a nod, “Yes, so don’t doubt yourself!”

He gives you an unreadable look, “...Right.”

“I’m sorry, please let us continue this talk later!” With an apologetic smile you move onto the tall girl with brown hair that smelt the... the... _yeah_. “Hello! Akane Owari, you’ve got such power in your limbs being the ultimate athlete, possibly... could you teach me?”

She gives you a carefree grin, “Yeah, sure! What was yer name again?”

“Oh, we were never introduced,” you say, “But I do believe Chiaki said it earlier, however it could have been missed due to her quieter voice.” You throw a cheeky smile towards said girl and then turn back to Akane, “Well, I’m (Name)! Please train me one day!”

“Train you say?” Another larger figure approaches, his eyes burning with energy as he regards you cooly, “I couldn’t help but overhear your plans of getting stronger!”

“Ah Nekomaru Nidai, the Ultimate Manager!” you straighten up your stance and pump your arms, “Yes, I would like to learn more about phsycial activity! _And everything in general...”_

“Eh, wassat?” Akane leans closer, poking a finger in her ear, “That last part I didn’t catch, or the first or the middle to be honest!” She rolls her shoulder back and places both hands on her hips as she laughs.

_I said my thoughts aloud, I said it aloud I SAID IT ALOUD-! I didn’t mean to, it’s just hard to seperate thoughts and speaking!_

“Oh err... that was a...” you fumble for an explanation, thankful _she_ at least wasn’t actually paying attention, but Nekomaru definitely was with his intense gaze, “Well, learning is just AMAZING, isn’t it? Since I’m the Ultimate Programmer, it means I need to know a LOT about the world around me how it WORKS, _and_ those who LIVE in it!” You finish with a nod and hope for the best.

Nekomaru crosses his arms briefly before he begins to roar with laughter too, “Ahaha! Yes! This LIVELY spirit is GREAT!”

“Ehe, GREAT!” you depart with a wave and then beam at the next person, “Hellooo~!”

“...” he glares at you and scoffs, turning away, “Get lost.”

You blink, “Um... I do not understand, please try again.”

He narrows his eyes, “I said: _get lost_.”

You fiddle with your hands and giggle anxiously, “I-I still do not understand, please try again.”

He throws out his fist and snarls, “Get the hell outta my face!”

You stumble away and right back into someone who gently catches you by the shoulders. She stands you upright and bows deeply.

“I am very sorry for his behaviour... Please excuse his harsh words.”

You wave your hand about, taking a step further away from the boy in fear, “It... It’s alright! It’s not like you programmed him to say that... Ah... But it’s lovely to be meeting the finest swordswoman in Japan, Peko Pekoyama!”

She folds her arms, “Hm, it’s nice to meet you, too.” Then she drops her arms as she looks off into the distance, “...Don’t let me keep you,”

With a tenative glance back at her you approach the next girl, she’s the nurse, who clutches her hands to her chests and begins to tremble as you near.

“A-ah I’m sorry!” she wails, tears jumping into her eyes as she rears away.

“For what?” you inquire and tilt your head, “You have done nothing wrong.”

She blinks, “Eeeh? B-but I- _I_ just... _I just_ -!”

“No no, it’s alright Mikan Tsumiki!” you hold both hands in front of your body and flap them about, “You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, so I’m not angry or upset!”

Her arms fall down to her side as her lip wobbles and she sniffs, “A-ah’m _sorry_...”

“...” you pout and carefully wrap your arms around her, “Aaah! I’m sorry too! I’m so sorry I scared you!”

She squeaks and shakes violently, as her tears worsen, “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry! Please fo-forgive _me-e-e!_ ”

“Woah this is crazy!” someone else exclaims, jumping around as they make a camera with their fingers, “Hey Mahiru, come take a picture at their cute, sad faces!”

“I-I won’t!”

You pull away from the hug, still frowning, “Hmm...? Oh, Ibuki Mioda! The best Musician to ever strum a guitar!”

“Haha yeeee-p! Thas’ me!” she jabs a finger to her chest, “But I just wanna take a photo of you two right now!”

“That can wait until after the trial!” Monokuma growls, casting an ominous gaze around at everyone as he arrives with Monomi in tow, “Right now... we’ve got a murderer to catch!”

You finally let go off Mikan and burst forth, “That’s right! What’s all this nonsense about a trial and murderer? Nobody here is dead!”

Faces blank at your words, and you stagger towards Monokuma with an accusing finger point.

“Mhmm! Byakuya Togami isn’t de-”

“We need to... figure out who killed him.” Chiaki interupts, sending a warning look your way.

_But... he isn’t dead?_


	5. [ f i l e ]

_...He's not dead._

_He isn't dead. I'm so confused._

You close your eyes and hold your head in your hands for a moment, groaning quietly.

_The code... there's some messed up code here... it's corrupted in a way I can't seem to figure out. But still... I can still feel someone inside of it... and it isn't Byakuya Togami, nor are they dead._

A hand gently holds yours, caressing it as you slowly look to see who it is. Chiaki gives you a soft smile and tugs you along as she directs you into an elevator type thing.

"It's alright," she whispers, "I know it's confusing, especially when you find the corrupted area. Which is why we have to help them," she sweeps her eyes around at everyone else in the elevator, "they're even more confused."

"Wh-" your eyes widen as you stumble from the elevator shifting and begining to descend, "Um... why _can't_ we revive him?"

Her hand tightens around yours for a second as she frowns, "...I... I don't know, someone's infiltrated the program."

"..." you squeeze her hand and swing it forward, "Hey, it'll be alright! We can do this together!"

A few eyes are cast your way, which you simply smile at. While it's possibly dangerous to be talking aloud, it's doubtful someone will actually hear and make sense of what’s being spoken about. It's being excused as sibling banter at this point.

You close your eyes and hum as you sort through everything.

**[Open** **i͛͋͏͚̻͚̠̰͎̹̮m̺̠͛ͮ̅ͪ͟p̻͍͕̖͇̭͍̞ͬ̐͡o̾̑ͬ҉̦̘̫͈s̷̝͖̮̻ͩͅt̶̳͕̰̀̍ͫ͆ĕ̙͚̓́r̨̥̺̥̤̗̉͊ͦ̍** **'s file?]**

**[yes] [no]**

When you try to select yes, a strange sensation runs through your whole body, tingling as it spreads. With a gasp your eyes open and you bend over, bringing your hands to your chest and therefore pulling Chiaki with you.

It feels like static electricty coursing all over your body, stopping any thoughts and attempts at investigating from occuring. The feeling contiues to pulse and you shut your eyes tightly.

_Make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop- what is thi-s- wha-what- is-s-s_

_thi—s_

Chiaki tears her hand out of yours and wraps her arms around you, "Hey, I told you not to mess with that-!"

Her touch is soothing, a cooling affect spreading everywhere instead of the other sensation. It brings another relieved gasp into your mouth and allows you to fix your posture.

"Are... are they alright?" Hajime asks, having approached with an outstretched hand in worry, "What happened?"

"It... it looked like an electric _sh_ -shock," Mikan notes, pressing her hands together before her eyes widen, " _a_ -ah I’m sorry for butting in!"

_What was that?_

Chiaki's eyes soften as she allows you to be released from her arms, _'That's pain.'_

Your mouth opens involuntary and your hand goes up to cover your mouth, "Oh what?"

"I'm _s_ -sorry!" Mikan cries, tugging at her hair.

"Oh no, I-I wasn't meaning you Mikan!" you fret, waving your arms around to assure her of her own faultlessness, "I'm still... a little shaken by that feeling."

" _R_ -right, you said you've never been... injured before," she notes, " _Th_ -then do you know why it _happ_ -happened? Did you... hurt yourself?

You give her a large grin and hit your cheek softly, "Ehehe, it doesn't matter! Don't worry about me!"

Her eyebrows crease, "Um... I think maybe I shou-"

The elevator comes to a stop, making you stumble right into Hajime who's still close. He blinks and you mirror it, staggering backwards to your place besides Chiaki, "Aha sorry sorry Hajime! I'm... I guess I'm still not completely recovered," you clasp your hands together, giving him a silly grin.

He merely returns your smile, doubtful of your words but as the doors open and you rush past him, eager to escape the confined space, he has no other choice but to leave it.

Honestly, you’re just troubled by your own thoughts, and apparently _feelings_. The capability to ‘ _feel’_ isn’t something you should be experiencing, you weren’t made with those types of complicated programs. Your personality and actions and **everything** about you has been decided at your creation, your birth. _None_ of these things... should be happening.

Including this whole program, nobody should have _‘died’_ , there shouldn’t be ‘ _corrupted’_ files, these people around you should be relaxing and working through their trauma. Chiaki is supposed to be helping, she’s supposed to be fixing it. She’s supposed to be _able_ to _fix_ it, but something or someone prevents that.

And you...? You’re supposed to be idling, being in a permanent state of nothing unless something happened to Chiaki.

So, really, it’s no surprise when there isn’t a spot for you. As your eyes flicker around the room, you count sixteen podiums, bringing back another frown on your lips. But then you purse them and slap both cheeks, forcing a smile to replace it.

It’s no use questioning why you were frowning and have the need to plaster on a happy attitude, but it’s probably just how you’ve been made. Which... does bring other issues, _if_ you’re malfunctioning and having more a depressive attitude... then... You’ll be **no** **help** to Chiaki.

That makes your heart skip a beat.

“Well, since I didn’t know we were going to have another student joining us in our fun fun killing game, then they can stand off to the side with Monomi.” Monokuma declares with an large gesture out, “Come on then, kiddo, get over ‘ere!”

You open your mouth to retort, but then shake your head and skip over to Monomi, grabbing both her paws and grinning at her, “Hi hi! We’ve barely had any time to talk!”

Her eyes twinkle up at you, “Hehe, you’re much nicer than almost everyone else!” tears jump into her eyes and she sniffs, “Aah I wish more kids these days were like you!”

With a giggle you lower yourself to the floor and sit atop your legs, “Well, I’m happy you’re happy!”

“Urgh, I might just puke,” Monokuma grumbles, “Anyway, it’s finally time for what you’ve all been waiting for! Class trial, start!”

With a somewhat vacant stare you turn to your classmates, awaiting for the discussion to begin. Now that you’re over here and further away from them, it feels as if you aren’t part of the discussion, and you ready yourself for doing nothing but observing.

_You really are just a_ _**spare** _ _, after all._


	6. [ d e b a t e ] 1/?

"Before we begin, let me explain the rules of the school trial in simple terms." Monokuma begins, "Your task is to reason out the identity of the culprit, and vote on who to accuse! Should you correctly identify the culprit, they _alone_ shall be punished! But if you vote for the _wrong_ person..."

"Then everyone except the culprit shall be punished, and the culprit shall be given permission to leave the island!" He throws his arms out, "Yep yep, this is the most my hearts been pounding in what feels like forever!"

"Those wules are too cwuel...!" Monomi points out.

"I mean..." you hum, tapping your chin, "It's not _that_ cruel, I suppose it depends on the punishment."

_It can’t be that bad, it’s probably just being locked in jail for life or something! That sounds pretty fair for killing someone!_

" ...Before we begin, there is one thing I want to confirm." Nagito says, "Is the culprit really one of us?"

"Of course they are... Our murderous culprit is definitely one of you." Monokuma nods, "It truly is a sad tale, isn't it?" He looks at the ground, definitely not looking sad in the slightest, "By the way, this school trial is 100% fair and square, so please relax."

"...Now _that_ doesn't sound fair?" you close one eye, gesturing with a hand, "It makes it sound like you’re trying to fool us, this definitely isn't _relaxing_ ,"

"Shut the hell up," Fuyuhiko groans, directing it at you, "I just wanna get outta here as soon as possible and you keep yappin' away!"

"I'm sorry, I'll keep quiet now!" You clasp your hands together, bowing your head down towards him.

"That's so _meeean_!" Ibuki exclaims, "but I ain't complaining because any expression (Name) makes is so darn cute!"

"Eh? I-I don’t understand," you stutter, "Um..."

“See, _see_?!” She squeals, pointing at you.

"Anyway..." Monokuma recovers the orginial topic, "After Monomi, favouritism and injustice are the things I hate the most!"

Monomi trembles in your grasp, "You weally hate me that much?!"

"Well, then, let's begin!"

_He just ignored her-!_

You frown, patting your spare hand on Monomi's head and giving her an apologetic smile. Before standing up and stretching your limbs, maybe you can help a little... maybe.

" _Y_ -You say we should begin... but, what exactly are we supposed to _do_?" Mikan asks, fearfully glancing at Monokuma.

"How 'bout we quit fussing around and just decide with our fists?!" Akane shouts while pounding her hands together.

"You even listen to the rules?!" Kazuichi exclaims, somewhat covering his mouth, "Man... we ain't gonna get this finished quickly."

"That moron Byakuya was killed in the big hall, wasn't he? In that case, the people in there with him are the most suspicious ones." Fuyuhiko decrees, sounding impatient.

"Um... please do not call him a ' _moron'_ " you say politely.

He just glares at you in response.

"Sure, sure. All you want to say is that you're not the culprit, right?" Mahiru says, "And don't be so rude, poor (Name) hasn't done anything wrong so stop taking out your anger on them!”

"Ah thank you Mahiru!" you gasp, "Thank you very much!"

"Of course. It's _you_ who started this mutual killing business... It's nothing to do with me." Fuyuhiko huffs, crossing his arms and looking away.

"Huh? What the...?"

"That statement is incorrect!" You proclaim, tilting your head and gazing at him, "She did not start this! And it most certainly has _much_ to do with you, please do not dismiss your own suspicion!"

He narrows his eyes at you, "Didn't I tell ya' to shut up? And what the hell are you goin' on about? You're the most suspicous person here, we don't even know where the hell you popped outta."

"That's true!" you place both hands over your mouth, "Hmm..."

"A...Anyway... How about we discuss the most interesting fact first?" Nagito suggests, holding both hands up to ease the atmosphere.

"Eh? What do you mean, ' _most interesting fact'_...?" Teruteru asks, a trickle of sweat running down his face.

"The location of the body... It's strange that we found it under that table," Nagito contiues, pointing a finger up.

"So... should we begin with that mystery?" Chiaki inquires.

"Yes yes! Why was it there?" You blurt, "I got blood all over my feet, was that when I bumped into the table?"

"That... isn't suspicious at _all_ ," Kazuichi grumbles, "Even though you were just _suddenly_ there right at that point..."

You hold both hands up, "It wasn't me! I promise!"

"How did Byakuya’s body...end up under that table?" Nagito hums, a finger at his chin.

"It was the table set deepest inside the hall...and he was under it." Gundam notes, arms crossed and eyes closed as he thinks.

"Maybe after the culprit killed Byakuya...They moved the body over there?" Kazuichi suggests, narrowing his eyes, " _And_ got blood all over their feet..."

"Eh? But why would they do that?" Hiyoko asks, tilting her head.

"They wanted to hide the body, of course! That way, it would take time before we find it!" Ibuki yells, with a hand in the air as she waves it around, "They're just like a dog who made a mess!"

"A bad naughty dog!" You add, nodding firmly, "But a _murderous_ dog."

" ...Don't you think it's odd to suggest that the body was moved?" Hajime finally acknowledges, his hand in front of him as he thinks.

" ...Huh? Why?" Kazuichi blinks.

"Um, I want you to try and remember the state of things under the table when we found the body..." Nagito recalls, "There was a large amount of blood there, but no blood trails that would suggest the body had been moved."

"No, that's wrong!" You shout, throwing your arm out, " _I_ stepped in the blood and then walked it around everywhere! Don't you remember seeing it?"

There's confused glances shot your way, and you tense up and giggle nervously.

_Ah right, this is an investigation to find a murderer..._

"Um... I suppose that was silly of me to say.” you tilt your head with a sheepish smile.

"Kinda..."

"Well, there's a way to prove it wasn't you," Chiaki says, "because there was _only_ blood on your feet...” she tries to stop a yawn but it fails, so she covers her mouth and blinks tiredly, “which means... you just stepped in it instead of it getting all over you... I think.”

You purse your lips and tap your chin, "Hmm, yes, there was a lot on my feet... but none anywhere else! Thank you for clearing my name!" 

"That doesn't mean it _wasn't_ you!" Hiyoko scoffs, pushing out her lips and covering her mouth as if about to laugh, "Ha, you could've just changed clothes or worn something to stop the blood!"

"That's wrong!" Hajime yells, "There was nothing in the whole building like that! They only arrived during the blackout, and fainted at the sight of blood!"

_Hmmmm... I’m still not sure what happened when I saw the blood, but the mere memory of it..._ you shiver, _makes me feel tingly_.

"So how _did_ ya get blood all messing up your feet?" Ibuki asks.

"Um... so the body was under the table?" You hop from one foot to the other, "Hm hm hm... Well, I _did_ back into a table while the lights were out, could it have been then?"

"Eh?!" Mahiru exclaims, "How did you get so close and not become involved?"

"Actually, _where_ did you enter from anyway?" Nagito inquires, "How did you find your way into the room while the lights were off? You weren't in the building earlier." He narrows his eyes then smiles and holds both hands up, "Ah, I shouldn't be questioning you so much. Since you don't seem like the type to murder."

"Just because you've judged me as someone like that, doesn't mean you're correct." You deadpan, then tilt your head and close your eyes, "Oh, once again I've made myself seem suspicious!"

"...Yeah,"


	7. [ d e b a t e ] 2/?

"Just shut your damn mouth and let this stupid debate finish already." Fuyuhiko grunts, a vein popping out from his head in agitation.

" _Y_ -your head!" you gasp, "Are you okay? Mikan is he going to di—?" you turn to the nurse in fear, eyes wide as you clutch your hands to your chest.

"I think... we need to get back on track," Chiaki states, pulling at her backpack straps.

"Right," Hajime nods, "So... the body,"

"But, if the culprit didn't carry it there, why was the body under the table?" Ibuki asks, her mouth wide open as she holds her arms behind her back, "I don't get it."

You exhale silently, glad that she took the tense air away from you and back on the case. Although... you don't really understand what that previous feeling was. Annoyance? Anger? Pride? Ah, _is that even an emotion?_

_I'll have to ask Chiaki after!_ you decide happily nodding to yourself, said girl's eyes find their way to you before she yawns.

"That was probably... the place he was killed." Hajime points out.

_killed killed killed........ I don't like that word at all! It is incorrect, bzzt bzzt, wrong answer! Pleass try again._ you purse your lips, still nodding away.

"Wha...! Are you saying the murder took place under a table?!" Nekomaru yells, his fists clenched tightly as his voice rises almost to a roar.

_woah... I don't think I've ever been near someone so loud before!_

"Byakuya crawled under the table for some reason, and that's where the culprit got to him..." Nagito hums, hand on his chin as he thinks, "...And that's the reason his body was left there. It makes sense, doesn't it?" he folds his arms and awaits for approval.

You narrow your eyes at him, _how... can he seem so certain and yet so... unsure. Does that work? Does that make sense? Please ask for clarification if you require further inform—_

"T...That does make sense, but... what was Byakuya doing hiding under a table in the first place?" Nekomaru agrees, slightly toned down as he crosses his arms too.

"He must've wanted to jump out and surprise us all. He sure was a joker, that Byakuya!" Akane trills, a hand resting on her waist as she grins thoughtlessly.

_hm... I never met him but I do not believe that is accurate._

"What?! No he wasn't! You been paying attention at all?!" Soda shouts as he points at her in accusation.

"Do you think..." you begin and then firmly shut your mouth, glancing over to Fuyuhiko.

"Hmmm... Maybe he panicked when the lights went out, and went under the table to hide..." Teruteru says in thought, rubbing his chin.

"This is not an _earthquake_! There's no reason to hit the floor when the power goes out!" Nekomaru argues, gritting his teeth as he points a finger at Teruteru.

_Earthquake? Eh? ...Hit... the floor?_ You look up at the ceiling, eyes slitted as you think, _hitting... the floor. Ah yes, I believe this saying must refer to an action you partake of in a party!_ Your eyes light up and a happy smile traces your lips, _Yes! '_ Earthquake _' must refer to one of those actions! Now I must learn more of these rituals-!_

Chiaki grimaces from her podium.

"The reason... must be connected to Byakuya's actions during the party, doesn't it?" Nagito contiues.

"His actions? Did he do the ' _Earthquake_ '?" you inquire, tilting your head. Then a certain look spreads across your face as you cross your arms and nod wisely, "Of course he did!"

"... _What?_ " Hiyoko sneers, "They've lost their mind!"

"I'm sure they're still recovering from fainting not so long ago," Mahiru chastises the girl with a small frown, "don't be mean Hiyoko. Although..." she turns to you with a worried expression, "I am a little concerned about you right now."

"Me?" you jab a finger to your chest, "I do not und—"

"Just ignore the idiot," Fuyuhiko demands, " _The body_?" he pursues the topic, making everyone once again scramble to talk about the murder.

_...She's worried about me? Why?_

"...It must have something to do with the knife that we found under the table." Hajime notes, holding his hand out.

"By ' _knife_ '... you mean that thing that makes you want to scream ' _that's the murder weapon!_ ', right?" Ibuki questions, scratching her head.

"Byakuya probably noticed that there was a knife hidden there...So he crawled under the table on purpose, in order to retrieve it." Hajime finishes.

"Byakuya was indeed sensitive to dangerous items, so I cannot deny that possibility, but... How was it that he became aware of a knife hidden under a table?" Gundam says, throwing his arms out to pose dramatically.

With a smile you copy his pose, then switch to one of your own by using your hand to cover your face whilst you grin darkly, a ominous chuckle rolling off your tongue before it lightens up as you can't help but drop the act.

Chiaki doesn't bother to look at you, but as her eyes glaze over you know she saw and heard it. Somehow nobody else did, which to be frank about... you feel conflicted. It's a good thing not to have stood out and caught attention yet again, but you also wanted them to laugh...

"He can't have known about it before... If he had, he'd have done something about it earlier." Mahiru says, looking away as she points off towards the ceiling.

"In that case... What if he didn't know about it ahead of time, but noticed it for the first time right there and then...?" Chiaki proposes, pulling her backpack straps forward, "For example, if he saw someone going under the table in order to retrieve the hidden knife..."

"Aah, you are simply so smart!" you coo, clapping your hands to which she blinks slowly and tries to stop a yawn unsuccessfully.

"No, that is impossible." Peko objects, her arms crossed in resilience.

"Oh? You sound extremely confident." Nekomaru gives her a pointed look, waiting for her to reveal why she's so sure.

"Of course. The facts support my claim."

"Upupu! This is getting exciting!" Monokuma covers his mouth as he laughs.

Monomi trembles beside you, so you squeeze her paw and give her a reassuring grin.

"When Byakuya crawled under the table...it was right in the middle of the power outage." Peko declares, holding a hand up to her face.

"That much is beyond doubt!" Sonia says supportively.

"And that means...That while the lights were out...Mr Porkfeet saw the culprit going for the knife?" Hiyoko suggests, raising her both hands up.

_PORKFEET?_

"It was pitch black during that blackout!" Ibuki repeats for _some reason._

"It was so dark I couldn't even see the food in front of me!" Akane notes, still looking far too cheerful.

"No one could see anything, and that includes Byakuya. It is impossible for him to have seen the culprit." Peko finally proclaims; her statement as to what she thought happened.

“No, Byakuya _could_ see what was going on." Hajime objects.

Peko's eyes narrow as she gazes at him, "...And why was he the _only_ one who could see?"

"There was a set of night-vision goggles under the table," he explains, "If Byakuya used them, he would be able to see during the blackout."

_Night...vision... goggles?_

You open your mouth, halt, then shut it.

"So, are you saying it was Byakuya who used the goggles?" Peko wavers, changing her stance so that her hair flicks around.

_...Huh?_ you watch her movements, _she's... worried? Like Mahiru was?_ then, sensing someone else watching her you look around for them, blinking quickly as you find the culprit. _And Fuyuhiko... is—_

" ...Yeah, it appears so."

Mahiru clicks her tongue, "No, that's clearly wrong, isn't it?! It's obviously just the opposite!"

"T...The opposite...?"

"I mean, it's obvious it was the culprit, not Byakuya, who used those goggles!" she argues, both hands on her hips. “If we think about this rationally...It must've been the culprit who used the night-vision goggles!" she huffs, "I'm telling you, that much should be obvious!"

"What's your evidence it was the culprit who used them?" Hajime fires back.

"I mean, wearing those goggles...Is the only way someone could kill Byakuya in complete darkness!" she reasons, placing a hand to her chest as she looks away, "I'm sure... that's what really happened here..."

_She looks uncertain._

"Anyway, in order to do that...It was the culprit who brought those goggles to the scene!"

"No, the person who brought those goggles to the lodge was, undoubtedly, the victim—Byakuya." He decrees, hand held out.

"Undoubtedly...? _Why_?"

"Do you remember that duralumin case Byakuya was carrying with him during the party?" Hajime asks, making you frown, "There was a storage case for a set of night-vision goggles inside."

"In other words, we can infer the goggles were inside the duralumin case when they were brought into the lodge..." Ibuki says, both index fingers pressing into her head with her eyes shut tightly. Then she giggles, throwing her whole body to the side, "Ha ha! Ibuki said ' _infer_ '! A clever word that doesn't fit her at all!"

"You're clever Ibuki!" you burst, then cover your mouth and glance over at Fuyuhiko. But he just rolls his eyes. "Anyone can say whatever they want!" you assure her, pleased by the lack of being scolded, "As long as it isn't mean... _then_ you should shut your stupid mouth!"

"WOW!" she exclaims, hitting her chest with wide eyes, "That made me suddenly feel _so_ _invigorated_! Ibuki could write a song right now!"

You gape at her, then beam, "Please do! I can't wait to hear it!" you jump from one foot to the other, "A song inspired by me-!"

"...Alright, back to the case," Hajime says, "That means that someone removed those goggles from inside the case during the power outage...And the only person who could have done that is Byakuya, who never left its side."

“I see... If you put it this way, I guess you're right...” Mahiru acknowledges, a finger pressed to her face.

“In that case, that knife probably also came from inside the duralumin case, didn't it?” Teruteru suggests, lifting both arms up, “If he had night-vision goggles in there, it wouldn't be too weird if there was also a knife!”

_...Hmm..._

“ ...No, something _is_ weird.” Chiaki disagrees.

“Yep yep!” You say, “Weird like me!”

“Yes, I guess I am weird... At a time like this all I can think about is this evening's hors d'oeuvre...” Teruteru blanks, making you frown.

_He stole my line!_

“Ewwww, gross! That was definitely a double entendre, right?!” Hiyoko cries, clutching her head.

_What? What does that mean?_

Chiaki gives you an odd look, _‘...don’t think too deeply about it, not right now.’_

“There was a piece of packing tape on the underside of the table we found the body under.” Hajime says, both his arms resting by his side.

“...Eh? Packing tape?”

“I'm sure it was used to attach the knife to the table's underside, and thereby hide it from view.”

“S...So that's why there was a piece of packing tape left over there...” Mikan mutters, clasping her hands together in front of her chest with a shaky look.

“Byakuya was extremely vigilant and careful tonight, but even he didn't think to check under the tables...” Nekomaru sighs, his face casted downwards as he stands there dramatically.

Peko shuts her eyes before asking, “...If I may change the subject for a little while, why _was_ Byakuya on such high alert tonight? He brought in not only defense goods, but even those night-vision goggles in that duralumin case of his...”

“That is certainly excessive for a ‘ _just in case_ ’ scenario...!”

“Now that you mention it... so was his confiscation of dangerous items.” Mahiru agrees with mild hesitance, “Subjecting us to such a thorough body check... that's way too much if he was simply being cautious!”

“He... must have known. He knew someone was going to try and murder tonight...” Nagito ponders aloud.

“He had premonitions of the murder?! No, it can't be... does he also possess the Evil Eye...?!” Gundam gasps, reeling back in shock.

“Ooh where can I get one of those?” you enthuse, “Or do I have to work to earn it? Either way, I—”

“You think so too, don't you, Hajime?” Nagito interrupts, focusing on the brown haired boy.

You scrunch your eyebrows, crossing your arms and looking away. Before grumbling to yourself and loosening your pose back into a neutral one. It’s not _his_ fault that _you_ have nothing important to add. You literally passed out and didn’t get the chance to investigate. So in this discussion, you don’t actually... matter.

_I’ll do better next time!_

_‘We want to_ stop _a ‘_ next time _’’_ Chiaki deadpans making you flinch.

_Right right! We will stop this from occurring again!_

“Everyone... Take a look at this.” Hajime calls, bringing a piece of paper out and holding it so that everyone can see it, then he reads it out, “‘ _Watch out. The first murder will occur tonight. It is inevitable_.’”

Your whole body twitches, making you tense up and look to Chiaki in concern.

She yawns, covering it with one hand, _‘you shivered. It’s fine.’_

_Eeeeh?!_

“Oi... What's this...?” Fuyuhiko narrows his eyes, stuffing both hands into his pockets.

“Hajime and I found it. It was at Byakuya’s cottage.” Nagito answers.

“In all likelihood... this is a threat someone sent to Byakuya...” Hajime announces.

“Who's this ‘ _someone’?_ ” Akane finally looks troubled, reaching out a hand as she sweats.

“No one but Monokuma would write such a stupid threat...” Hiyoko snickers.

“It wasn't me!” Monokuma instantly replies.

“...Is that the truth?”

“The only lies I tell are white lies!”

“Even _that's_ a lie, isn't it!” Monomi yelps, both arms in the air.

“Regardless of who wrote it... is this threat the reason Byakuya was so wary?” Peko asks.

“This letter is also probably to blame for Byakuya suddenly deciding to throw the party.” Nagito says, placing his hand beneath his chin.

“What do you mean?” Teruteru inquires with a frown.

“By gathering everyone in a single place, he tried to create a situation where everyone watched each other.” He answers, “That way, whoever sent that threat would be held back, unable to make their move.”

“But, that letter was probably just a prank...”

“You should always take threats seriously!” you exclaim angrily, “Threats should _not_ be ignored, no no no!” With a huff you stamp one foot, “No matter the reason why the threat was sent, the sender should be scolded!”

Nagito seems to throw a strange look your way, “...Nevertheless, Byakuya declared that there won't be even a single victim. He couldn't just let it go...” He crosses his arms and averts his gaze, “His strong sense of responsibility... forced him to take the threat seriously.”

_...Would I have done the same thing as him then...?_

“Ku... he should have discussed this threat with us when he got it...!” Nekomaru grunts, holding one fist clenched out away from his body.

“If he did that, it would just throw us into chaos... I'm sure Byakuya understood that very well.”

“Then, he decided to tell no one and act alone?” Sonia questions, holding her hands together at her front.

“His sense of responsibility as a leader became his downfall...” Peko breathes out, her eyes closed.

“Feh, it's time to stop fooling around! Who the hell wrote that letter?!” Akane cracks her knuckles, staring out at each person in agitation.

“It was... the culprit, of course...” Mahiru says despondently, holding her arms together.

“Heh. How about it, cowardly one?” Gundam slits his eyes, “Have you at least the courage to step forward now?”

“Someone who would just give up here wouldn't have murdered someone in the first place...” Hiyoko pouts her lips, “...Hehe... what about the most suspicious person here?”

She throws a look over to you with a grin.


	8. [ d e b a t e ] 3/?

"Um... Excuse me. May I ask a small question?" Sonia raises her voice, managing to deter Hiyoko's suspicion for now.

"Of course!" You beam at her with an enthusiastic nod, "This is a discussion, we require questions! But asking for permission is A-O-K!"

She tilts her head and gives you a pleasant smile that falls into somewhat ' _forced_ ' politeness.

" ...What is it, Miss Sonia?" Souda asks, grinning widely while leaning back on his arms.

_That looks... kind of comfy. Can you... sleep like that?_

Your eyes widen as you push a finger to your lips and hum quietly, _Can I sleep? Can AI sleep? What is sleeping like? I have almost no information on what occurs whilst the brain enters the—_

Chiaki snaps her attention over to you, ' _Please try to focus... I think we can learn more about that later, together.'_

"Ok!" you clap your hands.

"Woah, they're talking to themselves..." Hiyoko giggles into her hand, giving you a malicious look from the side.

"Well, I apologize for going back to the previous subject, but there is one thing that still worries me about the night-vision goggles." Sonia begins, "If it was Byakuya who used the goggles, how was the culprit able to conquer the darkness?"

_Conquer! She makes it sound so cool! ...I'm gonna say that too._

"I see... if they didn't have the goggles they couldn't see anything." Teruteru summarises, "But, in that case they couldn't have retrieved the knife from under the table, and wouldn't be seen by Byakuya, would they?"

_I see, you see, nobody on this island is blind! 36 million people worldwide are blind..._

It feels like Chiaki makes a point to yawn in your direction, but you really can't be sure. She does yawn all the time, anyway. So it might've just been coincidental.

"Even if they'd set up some kind of a landmark... they wouldn't be able to see it in that darkness," Nekomaru points out with his arms crossed, you give him a strange look when you realise there's a _chain_ wrapped around his neck like... _jewellery_?

"What if their landmark was covered in glow-in-the-dark paint?" Hajime suggests, "That way they'd have been able to see the knife in the dark. You see, both the knife that we found under the table... _and_ the packing tape that was stuck to its underside were covered with that kind of paint." Hajime explains, holding his hands by his side.

"Does that mean... that the culprit painted them in advance?" Mikan asks, still clutching her hands together.

"But, that would mean... Wouldn't they need to have known in advance that the power would go out?" Mahiru points out, lifting a hand in the air as sweat rolls down her forehead.

_...Can I sweat?_ Looking down at yourself, you squint at the ' _skin_ ' which covers your whole body. _Can I really perspire? What a strange phenomenon it is, I would like to experience it! Learning... prepare..._

"How can you know something without first learning and preparing for it?" You say aloud with a very dramatic sigh, dropping your arms and slumping.

"So then... in other words..." Chiaki picks up, lifting a finger, "They must have known. That's probably why they used glow-in-the-dark paint as a landmark."

"That means whoever caused that power outage is our culprit!" Hiyoko sneers, casting a malicious look off to the side.

"Well, that's it then! The culprit's the one who was in the room with the circuit breakers..." Kazuichi begins calmly, then pulls both his arms up and directs his attention to Peko, "In other words, it's you – Peko Pekoyama!"

"Hyaa! Peko killed Byakuya? We're losing both of our glasses wearing characters?!" Ibuki cries, her eyes wide and hands twitching in pure horror.

"Woah, making that expression really accentuates your pretty makeup and beautiful irises, Ibuki!" You exclaim, your own eyes lighting up in excitement as you stare at her, "Can you teach me how to put on mascara like that?"

She gapes at you, then flashes a large smile, sticking her tongue out and posing with her hand to her eye, "Of course of course, Cutie!"

You blink, "Nicknames? Um... Kirei... Kakuii?" Blanking, you drop your shoulders and lean forward with a despondent look, "Ibuki... there's too many words to describe you...!"

She squeals and claps her hands, "Same to you! I can't think of a proper name for you!"

Peko clears her throat, her arms crossed firmly, "To clear the earlier accusation..." she hardens her gaze, "...I am not the culprit."

"She says she's not the culprit!" Akane flicks a hand up past her hair, "Oh well, too bad."

"Okay! So Peko isn't the killer!" you chime, nodding thoughtfully and folding your arms.

"Both of you ...Don't believe people so easily!!" Kazuichi shouts, sweat pouring down his face.

"Um but..." you recoil from his indignant expression, "We should trust our friends... Because we're friends! Right? Right right? If you need... further clarification... then just so say so and don't ask for it in a confusing way!" Shutting your eyes tightly and grimacing, "Just say ' _I need help_!' and I'll be there!"

" _We_ - _ll_... just like (Name) and Akane said... I don't think Peko is tall enough to reach the fusebox in that office..." Mikan notes, her eyes misty with fresh tears.

" _T_ -That's a tiny problem that doesn't mean anything! I'm telling you, Peko flipped the breakers and caused that blackout!" Kazuichi insists, pointing his finger towards the girl, his eyes darting over to you repeatedly while he speaks, each time moving away too quickly to confront him.

_I've gone and done something to upset him!_ You scold yourself, _bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad bad - oh... was I stuck?_

"Peko was in the office, and so..." Kazuichi continues, "She could cause a power outage any time she wanted!"

"No... that was impossible..." the silver haired girl objects, shifting around uncomfortably.

"Eh? Why so?" Hiyoko asks, both her hand held to her face.

"Because I wasn't in the office,." She answers simply, "From before the outage, until after it was over..."

"WHAT ABOUT YOUR ROLE AS A GUARD?!" Nekomaru yells, his finger in her direction. It feels intense even though he's not accusing you.

"I apologize..."

"But, saying you weren't at the office..." Hiyoko lilts, covering her devious smile, "...That's just a lame excuse under pressure, isn't it!"

"I concur... I think Peko's telling the truth," Hajime says, "Because..."

"Oh, I get it. You've fallen for her, haven't you?!" Kazuichi suggests, a hand on his hip.

"Eeh?" you blurt, looking between the two, "' _fallen_ '? How does that work in this context?" You whine, swapping feet as you stand there. Screwing up your nose, you stamp your foot, "How do you ' _fall_ ' for someone! I don't get it!" Then leaning down to Monomi- _Usami_ , you peer at her with confusion, "You'll explain it to me, right?

She trembles, "Uuuhm... Why don't you ask Chiaki later!"

"Alright!"

Chiaki's eyes glaze over in exhaustion.

" _T_ -That's not it... Nekomaru's testimony is her alibi!" Hajime picks up, oblivious to everything else as he defends his honour.

"It's true. Someone had been making exclusive use of the toilet since just after the party started..." Nekomaru agrees, his arms crossed, "It was finally vacant again... _after_ we found Byakuya's body."

"Ah! So, maybe the person who was in the toilet is...!" Mahiru begins, her eyes wide.

"Everyone except Peko was in the big hall after the party started, right?"

"I get it! If someone's been locked in that toilet the entire time, it could only have been miss Peko!" Hiyoko pokes her cheek.

" _T_ -That is true..."

" _Y_ -You were in there the whole time? Why didn't you just say so at the start?!" Kazuichi huffs, more sweat trickling down his face.

"How could she have said anything? Don't you know anything about delicacy?" Mahiru frowns, glaring at the boy.

"If she's been there for such a long time... There can be no doubt. It was crap." Nekomaru says, running a hand through his hair as he begins to laugh, "Gahahaha! Of course she didn't say anything! You can't just come out and say you were taking a crap!"

_But this... this is a virtual world!_ You want to ask something about why it's so _realistic_ , but after sending Chiaki a pout you decide it's not your place. If _murder_ can occur, then it's not really any different to real life.

Which means...

"HEY!' You shout, you know, for _no reason_. Then shutting your mouth firmly, you gauge everyone's reactions, but then thankfully Mahiru does exactly the same thing.

"Hey! Has no one ever taught you about delicacy? Are you living in a country with no women?" She shakes her head at Nekomaru's indecency, sending you an agreeable look.

_I just wanted to talk about how cool it is... that I'm basically real!_ You sigh internally, _This is the closest I'll get to actually living..._

"Gh... I apologize!" He clenches his fist, looking at it with disgust over his actions.

" _I_ -It's fine... More importantly... can we please stop talking about this?" Peko says, her eyes moving around constantly to show her difficulty with the topic,

"Nevertheless, I can attest that it didn't stink too much! I can testify to that, since I was in there right after you!"

Peko's cheeks light up, " ...P... _Please_ , just let it go!"

"But, you sure were in there for a _reeeeeally_ long time! Did you have stomach trouble or something?" Hiyoko asks, a cheeky look flittering across her face.

"Immediately after I came to the office, I was overwhelmed by an intense pain in my stomach..." Peko explains, "That is why I couldn't leave the toilet... Even during the power outage."

"Hey, how did it feel when it suddenly became dark as you were doing your business? Was it unexpectedly exciting?" Teruteru now alert, lifts a hand while blood runs out his nose.

" ...Will you just stop it?" Hajime blanks, one bead of sweat on his cheek.

You squint, "Hey. I don't really understand most things you say, but my friends don't like them. So please stop!" you plead, clasping your hands together.

He makes a strange sound, "Ooh, to be spoken to so sternly but also politely!" He rubs his chin, "And with such pure intent—!"

"Teruteru, be quiet." Nagito demands, staring him down.

"Yeah... Cut it out around my sibling," Chiaki sticks her finger up, resting her other hand on her hip, "Nobody is allowed to interfere with (Name)'s innocence and learning, okay?"

Blinking owlishly at the two, the whole room turns silent for a moment with shuffling or murmurs. Turning to Usami, you whisper, " _I don't know what’s going on but I'm happy they're talking about me!_ " You smile gleefully at the rabbit who meagrely nods once in reply.

“ _Well_ anyway... was that stomachache really a coincidence?" Fuyuhiko inquires, half looking away to the side.

"What do you want, Mr ' _Nothing to do with me_ '? You wanted out, so why don't you keep out?" Mahiru watches him with irritation, both her hands planted firmly on her sides.

“Heh. You idiots are all so unreliable, that I thought I'd put in a word of my own." He grins scornfully

"Enough foolishness. You questioned a supposed ' _coincidence_ '." Gundam notes, his arms folded as he speaks with his eyes shut, "What did you mean?"

"I mean... It's possible that someone spiked her food with laxatives." He continues, "By doing that, someone could force her to leave the office, and then take advantage of that opening to flip the breakers."

" _L_ -Laxatives...?" Mikan echoes, to which you reply to very deeply: " _Indeed, laxitives_!" The purple haired nurse watches you with big eyes, "Uh... uhm...!" she mutters before looking away.

"I see! So that was the trick they used!" Akane adds, just as usefully as your comment.

"How about it? Did you eat anything weird?" Fuyuhiko asks, eyeing Peko narrowly.

"No... I don't believe I did." She answers with a sheepish expression.

"Speaking of which, Peko... When you left for the office..." Sonia starts, placing a finger to her chin dekicately, "...you took with you some food, did you not?"

"Yes... I took a portion of the party food with me."

"There must have been laxatives in the food, right?" Fuyuhiko suggests, lips curled up in a somewhat grin.

"How suspicious! Teruteru made that food!" Ibuki exclaims, throwing her hands in his direction.

"SUSPICIOUS!" you repeat, pointing both your hands in his direction, happy to join in on the custom.

" _I_...I would never do such a thing!" He squirms under the pressure of two people gesturing to him, "I mean, spiking the food ruins its taste!"

"No, it's impossible that the party food contained any laxatives." Hajime agrees, "I mean, it wasn't just Peko who ate that food. Akane did, too."

"If someone put laxatives in that food, Akane should also have had stomach trouble..." Mahiru acknowledges.

"I'm feeling as healthy as an ox!" Said girl says cheerfully, her face the picture of ' _fine_ '.

" _I_...I told you, the food had nothing to do with it! Don't go making weird accusations like that!" Teruteru grunts, sweating furiously.

"...I apologize for leading you astray." Peko mutters, her eyes shut.

"It's Fuyuhiko who should apologize! He's the one who came up with the idea!" Mahiru says, screwing up her nose at the blonde.

"What was that, asshole?!" He snarls, a vein popping out from his forehead.

In panic, you open your mouth to once again ask Mikan if that's serious but Sonia then raises her voice.

"Stop this fighting, at _once_!" She commands, throwing her hand out. Instantly, your body stands up straight, watching the girl as she speaks.

_Scary..._ You decide, not being overly happy with how she managed to make you respond so attentively.

"So, if Peko's stomachache was just a coincidence, how about we go back to talking about the blackout...?" Mikan offers, pushing her fingers together tensely.

"Sure, sure... you don't have to spell everything out, you dirty pig." Hiyoko snickers, her face overshadowed.

" _D_ -Dirty pig?!" Mikan and you chorus. When the nurse shrivels, you push your lip out at Hiyoko, "Hiyoko! Please don't be so mean!"

She rolls her eyes, blowing out her cheeks at you, "I'm not going to listen to you! You're as bad as the suspicous people who wink at me while I'm performing!" She closes her eyes, "There! Now I can't see you and I can focus!"

" _Hiiiyoko_!" You cry, "I'm sorry! Please look at me!" She shakes her head, "But I just wanted you to consider how Mikan feels, _pleease_!"

"Who flipped the breakers and how did they do it?" Hiyoko says loudly, her eyes still closed, "If you can't answer that, I'll pinch you in the forehead!"

" _PINCH_?" you exclaim, "Um but my skin...!"

"Perhaps they threw a stone at the fusebox?" Ibuki suggests, leaning forwards with her hand on her forehead. Watching that with concern, you lift your hand up to the same area and rub it.

"They must've used a remote control, right?" Kazuichi says, touching his hat and looking to his left.

"The fusebox must've been tampered with somehow." Mikan adds, her eyes following your hand which still traces your crown. When you smile at her and she shrinks away.

"It might not have been the fusebox at all..." Sonia begins, "It is possible the power lines or the power transmission have been tampered with!"

"Maybe we were just using too much power?"

"I say Monokuma did it!"

"By the way, I am not a dirty skank!" Mikan tears up, trying to hold back the tears but they still drop from her eyes. Seeing that, you frown.

"It's just like Mahiru said... The power outage happened because too much power was being used," Hajime declares, "It wasn't a coincidence, though. Someone... triggered it on purpose."

"They used those three irons in the storage room for that, didn't they?" Nagito says, touching his forehead. Gasping, you make to talk to him about it but clamp your mouth shut quickly.

"When you found them immediately after the power outage, they were all plugged in and turned on, right?" Hajime finishes.

"So, someone set up those irons purposely to draw enough power to trip the breakers?"

"Yeah. By using the irons, the culprit caused the outage and–"

"YOU _FOOOOOOL_!!!" Nekomaru shouts, "Hold it right there! I have something to say!"

" _fool_..." you whisper, " _fool_..." nodding, you again address Usami quietly, " _It's a nice word to say! I'm going to use it_!" She shakes and starts to object but is ignored as you tune back in to the dicussion.

" _W_ -What is it...?"

"Are you saying the irons in the storage room triggered that power outage...?" Nekomaru says with ferocity, "I CANNOT ALLOW SUCH FOOLISHNESS TO PASS UNCHALLENGED!!"


	9. [ d e b a t e ] 4/?

"If the irons in the storage room are the cause of the blackout..." Nekomaru begins, crossing his arms, "In order for the culprit to fire up those irons... They would have to go to the storage room, wouldn't they?" He grunts and sticks out his finger towards Hajime, "In that case, the people who were in the big hall when the power outage occurred... Should be removed from the suspect list, right?!"

"No, the people who were in the big hall..." Hajime refutes, "...are not yet removed from suspicion!"

"The people who were in the big hall could not have caused the blackout!" Nekomaru objects, voice rising in the heat of the arguement, "If the irons were the trigger for that power outage... It means the culprit went to the storage room just before the blackout started...And turned on those irons!" he settles his gaze, "Or, perhaps, you wish to withdraw your previous statements?!"

"The irons _did_ cause the power outage, but they weren't the direct trigger for it..." Hajime explains, "The direct trigger was the air conditioners in the big hall and the office turning on."

" _AIR CONDITIONERS_?!" Nekomaru basically roars.

Shutting an eye as you wince at the volume, your hands instinctively reach up to your ears and cover them. Then you stand there for a moment, confused at your own actions.

"Both air conditioners were set to turn on at 11:30..."

"11:30... That's about the same time that Mr. Porkfeet died!" Hiyoko exclaims, poking her cheek.

"..." you lower your hands, considering saying something, but instead you remain silent and wait a while longer.

"So... the moment those air conditioners turned on, the breakers flipped, causing the blackout..." Nekomaru summarises, throwing a hand up to his head and laughing, "Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle! You got me! I am fully convinced!"

" ...Monkey's uncle?!" You and Sonia chorus, watching him with wide eyes.

_That's..._ _not in any data banks_. _Just like with everything else they've been saying!_ You huff silently and pull a thread on your clothes, _Why can't they all just explain it to me so that I can categorise it and store it for later use?_

"The culprit must have investigated the power limit at the old lodge beforehand, and set up enough irons to just barely reach it," Nagito explains with his hand to his chin, "Then, all they had to do was set up the air conditioner's timers and wait for them to turn on..."

Running your hand down your clothes, you blink at the white-haired male with curiosity. He's obviously rather smart, but how is he talking about it all so _simply_? It's as if he...

"Do you have some sort of magical power?!" you gasp, taking a step forward closer to the podiums, but Usami tugs on you and holds you back somewhat forcefully. Deciding to ignore her, you move forward even further, "If you have the Ultimate luck then that's basically the same, right? If you can use that in pracitcal ways..." spreading your arms out gleefully, you beam at him, "imagine the possibilities!"

He has a neutral expression as he carefully glances at you and then shuts his eyes, "Comparing my talent to something such as ' _magic_ '... I'm not sure how to respond to that!" he holds both his hands up, something about the way his smile doesn't seem full enough makes you uncomfortable, but that's not your place to worry about.

Your _only_ purpose is to help Chiaki! You are _only_ here for Chiaki! To help the program run smoothly! Don't go forgetting your role.

Hiyoko scoffs, holding back an insult from her obviously malicious smile which is pointedly directed at you. In retrn, you beam at her, "Cretin!"

Recoiling, her lips downturn as she now regards you in somewhat disgust, " _what_?"

Sticking a finger up and placing your other hand over your forearm, you nod wisely, "Cretin is a synonym for fool. It's been on my mind for a while since I couldn't quite recall a synonym for _fool_." Only smiling wider, you finish, "I believe it would be used as an insult!"

The rest of your classmates don't seem to know how to respond, so thinking it over you frown.

"...oh... _OH_!" you exclaim in panic, covering your mouth, "I'm so sorry, by the way I phrased that it seems like I was insulting you, I'm so sorry!" bending down into a bow, you clasp your hands together above your head, "It takes a while for me to compute factors such as social reactions!"

"Excuse you-!" she huffs, pointing towards you in a loss for words.

Flinching away, you smile nervously, "...I just thought that ' _porkfeet_ ' was also a synonym...?"

Instead of returing injury to injury, she simply pushes her lips out and looks away.

"So... what Hajime was saying earlier...." Chiaki says.

"Well, _I'll_ be a monkey's uncle! As Hajime was saying..." Sonia grips her arm proudly, "They _could_ cause the power outage even if Peko were still in the office!"

"He got to Sonia?" Kazuichi exclaims, hand over his mouth.

"It is also possible... that they might have asked Monokuma about the power limit." Chiaki points out, her hand to her face while she looks upwards.

"Gasp!" said bear... gasps.

"You fool!" Is your immediate shout in retaliation, settling a hard gaze on him and screwing up your nose, "But... why would you let it be found out so easily?"

"Did she hit the jackpot?! How detestable... You deserve to die a thousand times over...!" Usami says, looking ready to approach him in an offensive pose.

"A thousand times? If I die _that_ many times, I'd really be dead..." he blanks, then seems to notice her movement and it only takes a moment for him to have her wrapped up in rope and suspended from the ceiling.

"HEY!" you yell, frantically jumping up in an attempt to grab onto her foot, "Don't tie Usami up like that!"

"Shut up, you two!" Mahiru sighs, pointing towards you.

Instantly tensing, you take a step back while using your arms to defend yourself, "I'm sorry! I'm very sorry! I can be quiet again if you so desire! Simply tell me your command and I will run it through my system!"

Her mouth hangs open as she tries to decipher that, before she smiles apologetically with a trickle of sweat rolling off her cheek, "Um... I didn't mean _you_ , (Name). I was talking to Monokuma and Monomi..."

"Oh!" you drop your arms, looking around before nodding once. "Okay, I am glad!"

"...I wouldn't have been able to prevent the blackout even if I had stayed in the office. But, nevertheless, I am ashamed..." Peko mutters in disappointment, again managing to pull the conversation back into an actual... discussion. "Had I stayed, I might have been able to quickly reset the breakers... That might have prevented this horrible incident from occurring..."

Humming a tune to yourself, you focus on stretching your limbs to grab Usami.

"No, the fusebox in that office is too high for any of us to reach..." Nagito acknowledges, waving his hand to dismiss Peko's concern. As you begin to strain, he holds his eyes on you for a second before looking back to the silver haired girl. "...It would've been impossible for you to reset the breakers... even if it wasn't pitch black at the time."

" ...Seems you shouldn't worry about it too much." Fuyuhiko mumbles, and if you had been watching you might've seen Peko's stature relax slightly.

"We seem to have a cunning culprit on our hands... I'm starting to worry that we'll _never_ find them," Hiyoko admits, holding her arms up.

"It's fine. There's no need for worry," Nagito promises, his arms crossed, "I mean, come on! It's just some killer, right? What chance can they possibly stand against the students who were branded the symbols of hope?!"

_..._

Stopping your actions for a second, your finger twitches involuntarily before you shake the strange feeling away and manage to wrap your hand around Usami's left leg, " _yesssss_!"

The bunny whimpers, "It's okay (Name)! I'm your teacher, don't worry about me!"

"... _Teacher_?" you blink, "I've never had a teacher... Everything I know... I didn't learn any of it, it was just added to my program one day." You let go slowly with your eyebrows creased, frowning at the ground.

She makes a noise somewhere between a sad and angry gasp.

Meanwhile, Nagito is still fired up, "There's no way we're going to lose here. An incident of this level isn't an obstacle! It's a mere stepping stone!" He presses ever onwards, "In the end, _hope_ is going to win! I have full confidence in that!"

"Nagito...? What's up with you...?" Hajime asks, looking unsettled.

"Eh? What's wrong?"

"I mean... up until now you kept saying the culprit couldn't possibly be one of us..." Hajime recalls, begining to sweat.

"I did?" He asks, not at all a question, "Oh, well. More importantly, let's go back to discussing the incident." He clears his throat, and for some reason you can't seem to turn to watch him as he talks. "As we were saying... we now know how the power outage was set up. The problem is... who actually did all of that."

Your arms hang loosely by your side as you stare downwards.

"Anyone could have secretly set up the air conditioner timers...The irons are the same... anyone could have come in before Byakuya did and put them in the storage room..." He casually finishes, " ...That's a problem. It seems it could've been any one of us, doesn't it?"

" ...What are you trying to say?" Fuyuhiko grunts, clenching his fist.

"He's saying that's when all is said and done we still haven't really figured anything out!" Hiyoko leers, her face shadowed.

"Eh? Even after so much debate?" Sonia exclaims, shocked.

Idly, you consider attempting to access the files again.

"Unfortunately, that is the truth..." Nagito says, "We talked about the incident that much, and yet we haven't found a single clue leading to the culprit...But... that's just natural, isn't it? I mean... there's no way the culprit is one of _us_."

"Hey... didn't you just change what you're saying again?" Hajime points out, his stress increasing.

" _Mm, not good, not good at all_ ," You mumble, clenching your jaw, " _Mmmm not good not good not good_."

"Anyway... I'd like to suggest what we should do now..." Nagito continues, "Hey, everyone. Don't tell me you haven't ever felt like this...Don't tell me you never felt it better to die trusting your friends than to survive suspecting them..."

" _A_ -Are you saying we should just give up and die?!" Ibuki screeches, her eyes bulging while her hands are claw-like.

"Nagito! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Hajime inquires, not at all a _question._

" _Not good, mm not good_." You shut your eyes, hand constricting into a fist.

" _A_ -are you okay, (Name)?" Usami asks quietly, her little eyes filled with care.

"What's wrong with _me_? What's wrong with me is that's something wrong with all of _you_!" Nagito proposes, looking much too cheerful for his topic, "You keep blaming and accusing each other... I think that's utter madness! Let's just stop it! We don't really have to find the culprit, do we?" Something dangerous passes over his face, "I _hate_ it! We're all friends - I don't want to do such things!"

"I...I don't like it either..."

" _M_ -Me too! I...I just wanna go back home!"

" _Waaaaaaaaaah_! I wanna go home and eat lots of candy!"

" _S_ -Stop it.... _I_ -If everyone starts acting like that, I'm gonna... I'm...!"

Panicking, Hajime calls out, "Calm down, everyone!"

"We're friends, aren't we...? There's no way that murder would happen between friends, right...?" Nagito sighs, looking sad.

"Then why the _hell_ is Byakuya _dead_?!" Hajime shouts, hand held out.

"Who cares why...? Let's just give up, already... After all, there isn't a single clue leading to the culprit..." He exhales loudly as you pivot around and march towards him, you stop a metre away from Nagito and raise your voice, ignoring Chiaki's comment about having evidence.

"You are wrong." You harden your gaze, pose strong as you stick your chin out and dare him to keep eye contact, "Nagito, stop it. I know you might not like this situation, but it isn't as hopeless as you're suddenly making it out to be!" Grinning easily, you tilt your head, "So yeah, lets work together and get off this island!"

He seems frozen, then makes an odd expression, "It _isn't_ hopeless?"

Shaking your head, you smile wider, "Mhmm! Your comments were not good, not good at all! But that's fine, because we have each other!"

Someone else makes a weird noise, and you blink slowly, "Um, I mean... Because we _all_ have each other, not... us," you point your finger between him and yourself, "...singularly, just us two, not that... _uh_ -! Chiaki!" you turn to her and walk back to your spot besides Usami, "You had evidence, right?!"

She's silent, then snaps into reality, "Yes... I think."

"Great!" you pump your fist, only just noticing how everyone is also quiet. But that's normal when others are talking, anyway, so you ignore it in favour of paying attention to her.

She bites her lip, faint panic crossing her face which seems wrong. But that's something to worry about later, along with why your classmates are looking between you and her with narrow eyes.

"I mean... we've already found a clue that can lead us to the culprit, haven't we?" She starts slowly.

"We... did?"

"Do you know who the culprit is?"

"I can't say for sure that it's the culprit..." She continues, "But there is a clue that points to one suspicious person... I think."

"Oh? In that case, let's hear it. What is this clue you're speaking of?" Nagito inquires with his arms wide out.

"First, we should think about how the culprit could get to the knife during the blackout." She pulls the hood of her jackst over her head, tugging at it.

"We already figured that out... They used glow-in-the-dark paint for that, didn't they?" Nagito says in exasperation, hand to his forehead.

You want to ignore the faint flutter of annoyance it causes you to feel. At least, that's what you think it is. It's not like _you'd_ know.

"That's not it... I'm talking about before they used that."

"Let's check the state of things at the time..." Hajime picks up, "The map Mahiru drew can probably help us."

"The one that shows where everyone was standing just before the blackout, right? Um... here it is." She brings out a piece of paper, showing it to the group. Inching closer, you scan the whole thing.

"The culprit probably used the tabletop lamp in order to move to the table in the darkness." Hajime notes.

"That tabletop lamp...? You aren't saying they used its light, are you?" Nagito laughs standoffishly, his face much too pleasant for how forced his words sound.

Gundam crosses his arms and hums, "With the lodge devoid of power? None could have used that lamp."

_...Devoid... I like it_. You add it to the long list of words you want to remember, repeating it over and over.

"The culprit didn't use the lamp's light. They used its power cord!" Hajime says, something dawning on him.

" _T_ -The power cord?"

"If they moved by following the cord, they could reach the table the lamp was standing on, right?" He explains, "Then, after they moved all the way to the table, they could use the glow-in-the-dark paint as a landmark and get that knife." He takes a deep breath, "On top of that... among all of us, there's only one person who could have done that."

" _W_ -Who is that?"

Ignoring the urge to shout ' _you_ ' in response to Teruteru just for the sake of it, you frown at yourself for even considering it.

"...Nagito, it was you, wasn't it?" Hajime ends, and you pause.

If _he's_ the killer... then his ' _hopeless_ ' speech earlier might have been a way to distract everyone away from this. If he wasn't revealed... then...! And you walked right up to him; a _killer_?

Yet, when you look at him, something doesn't seem right with that assumption.

"M...Me...?" He blurts, sweating.

"When we checked everyone's positions just before the blackout... you were the only one who stood next to that cord."

"In other words... you're saying no one but Nagito could have used that cord as a guide!"

"T...That's just a coincidence!" He denies, his hands still up. Again, it feels simply so wrong that you want to leave the vicinity.

"But... Nagito also had a chance to set up the knife under the table, didn't he...?" Chiaki insists, sticking her finger up.

"Nagito... you'd been cleaning the big hall the entire day since this morning, right?" Hajime asks, "You had _all_ the time in the world to place that knife there!"

_The knife..._ Pursing your lips, you eye the white haired boy, _but all that blood...? It was all over my fe—um, gross._ Shivering, you grimace and decide to leave the murder solving to everyone else.

"T...That's...!"

"You were standing near the cord. You were chosen for cleaning duty. It's strange how you're the only one who can be connected to that knife!"

"I...I'm telling you, it's a coincidence!"

Even as his voce betrays something, you shut your eyes and block it out. It's not _your_ place to interfere with them, anyway.

"If it was only one thing, that would be possible... But two such coincidences are a little too much..." Chiaki mumbles, tugging at her backpack straps, "Hmmm, I wonder... Is it really possible for such a coincidence to exist?"

"It's even possible... that you set yourself up for cleaning duty so you could set up the knife there, right...?" Mahiru suggests, folding her arms.

"Now that you mention it... It was Nagito who prepared the chopsticks when we drew lots to decide on cleaning duty..." Nekomaru says gruffly.

"So it wasn't a regular lottery... you set it up somehow, didn't you? You lost that drawing on purpose to get cleaning duty, didn't you?" Mahiru points at him with her other hand on her hip.

"Um... please don't partake in the lottery," you plead, "It's dangerous to gamble, but uh... Just please be careful!"

"..."

"..."

"I don't know if he's the culprit or not... But there's an awful lot of evidence that makes him very suspicious..." Chiaki murmurs, breaking the silence from the suspicions and the confusion.

Nagito clenches his hands, reeling back.

"And... that strange act just now... Was that _also_ part of your plan...?" Nekomaru grunts, cracking his knuckles.

"You tried to dampen our spirits and cover up your crime, didn't you?!" Fuyuhiko huffs, looking ready to beat someone up again.

"Is that right? Say something, right now!"

" _It's not him_..." you whisper, shifting from foot to foot, " _I know it isn't_..."

"Nagito, if you have a counterargument, let's hear it...! To tell you the truth, I don't _want_ to believe it..." Hajime shouts, gritting his teeth, "We investigated together... and you've been so kind... To think that you're the culprit who killed Byakuya..."

"Nagito, say something!!"

" _It's not him..._!" you repeat, shaking your head, " _From... every single file I have on subtle cues... It_ can't _be him_!" Just as you go to say something, he finally breaks his silence.

"Ha...!" He inhales, hand to his forehead while begining to laugh, " _AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA_!" You flinch away, covering your ears at the volume and intensity, "The Super High-school Levels stand together and rise against the despair of their friend's death! Aa, this is such a magnificent, beautiful sight...!"

Hajime makes a noise of shock, while Nagito begins his confession. Still blocking it out, you crouch and close your eyes tightly.

"If I may start from the conclusion... you are completely correct! That's right, everything was my doing! It was me who set up the knife under the table before the party started. It was also me who used the power cord to find the table in the dark." He stops for a breather, the smile on his face never faltering, "And it was also me who set up that power outage in the first place, of course." He sighs, "I mean, I couldn't just go and grab that knife while everyone was watching, could I?"

" _H_ -His character's completely broken down, hasn't it?" Ibuki chuckles anxiously, pushing her fingers together while leaning away from him.

"But... I never imagined Byakuya would go as far as bringing in night-vision goggles..." He shakes his head in disbelief _and_ respect, "Thanks to that, we encountered each other under the table... and you know how that ended. But, I guess you could say that thanks to that unexpected occurrence, you had this interesting mystery to solve!"

_No... no... this is wrong!_ you loosen your hands but then clamp them back in place at hearing his voice.

"Ha ha! That sure was a splendid performance from Byakuya!"

" _G_ -Give me a break...! _S_ -Seriously, what the hell...?!" Kazuichi rubs his forehead with a distraught expression.

"Is... this what you're really like? Have you been deceiving us all this time?" Mahiru shakes her head, pointing at him with wide eyes.

Nagito merely laughs, "I haven't been deceiving anyone! There's no way I could deceive you guys! I know better than anyone that I'm a lowly, good-for-nothing human being." he still has that smile on his face as he talks, "Harboring my own hopes and dreams would be presumptuous... Striving to exert myself would be... impertinent..." He sighs sadly, "Yes, that's the kind of decidedly inferior, foolish human being I am. The lowliest, worst kind of incompetent human being."

Picking yourself up slowly, you can't bring yourself to properly face him. Still, you know you've got to do _something_ , "...And how have you placed that on yourself? Did you give yourself that purpose?" Glancing up to meet his eyes for a second, you frown, "Do you... have the authority to set your own regulations? I don't think that's something you can decide for yourself." Swallowing and nodding, you smile lightly, "Yeah, that's what I've learnt anyway."

He doesn't reply, giving you a blank stare that makes you withdraw.

"Oh no! This man is definitely the type who killed animals in his neighborhood when he was a kid!" Ibuki gasps.

" _Umm_..." you mutter, squirming, " _that's a psychopathic trait, please don't diagnose anyone without the proper credentials_...!"

"The type who watches ' _Friday the 13th_ ' with a gleam in his eyes... Just like me." Sonia says assuredly.

"Bit of an unexpected hobby you have there..." Kazuichi mumbles, gritting his teeth, "but... I guess now's not the time."

"Nagito... If everything is indeed your doing, does that include the threatening letter...?" Nekomaru asks, his fists on his sides.

"Of course." He owns up, "Who else but me could have this ugly, careless handwriting?"

" _It's not_ that _bad_..." you straighten up, tugging at your clothes.

"But, why did you send a warning?" Hiyoko asks, settling an angry look at him. It gives you some relief that her agitation has moved on from you for the moment.

Nagito mulls it over, then simply says, "Perhaps... somewhere, deep in my heart, I was looking for someone to stop my dark deeds..." Then his eyes darken, "If I told you _that_ was my reason, that would get me a little sympathy from everyone, wouldn't it?"

"Are you making fun of us?!" Akane seethes, eyes narrow and focused on him.

"Nagito probably sent the threat to Byakuya in order to lead his actions." Chiaki suggests, humming to herself quietly, "And so, he managed to lead not only Byakuya but everyone else to the scene of the murder... Am I wrong?"

"Now that you mention it... It was the same when I went to guard the case. It was Nagito who suggested I use the office." Peko recalls.

"I see... if Peko went to the storage room, he wouldn't have been able to use the iron setup anymore." Hiyoko figures, her face brighter than only a few moments ago.

"Both the threatening letter and that suggestion... all manipulations leading us to his trap." Peko says, supporting her arm.

"Yes, you're all correct..." Nagito finally acknowledges, "except for _one_ point."

" _H_ -Huh?" Mikan pales, " _W_ -What have we got wrong...?"

"It's the lots we drew to decide on cleaning duty. You said I set that up ahead of time... but I didn't." He answers easily, looking much too at ease.

"Then how did you manage to pull the chopstick that gave you cleaning duty?!"

"I see... of course you don't remember. Why would you remember the useless talent of someone as lowly as me?" He smiles, just _slightly_ bitter.

"...Super High-school Level Good Luck... So, you really...!" Hajime says, pulling away from his podium.

"Yes, I simply believed in my own luck. I knew I would probably get cleaning duty."

" _Y_ -You just left it up to fate?!"

"Oh, I didn't just leave it up to fate..." He dismisses that, "My talent may be garbage, but it's still ' _Super High-school Level Good Luck_ '."

"See!" you exclaim, rushing forwards before thinking better of it and slinking back to where you stood, "...I _knew_ it was like some sort of superpower!"

"...At the time, Hajime joked about how unlucky I was... But it's just the opposite...I was very lucky! I was chosen for cleaning duty, just as I desired!" He laughs harshly, eyeing you from the side, "If you really want, then you could call it that."

He settles his gaze on you, crossing his arms. You can't read his expression at all, so you shrink back, closer to Usami who still calmly stays wrapped in the rope. You would much rather her be by your side so that you could hold her paw, or be allowed near Chiaki. But that'd be presumptuous; to stand beside her and everyone else.

"That's enough... I don't care about that anymore..." Hajime says, cleching his fist before glaring at Nagito, "Answer me! Why did you kill Byakuya?!"

"Byakuya was an outstanding, talented leader, wasn't he...? Someone like him getting killed sure is despair-inducing, isn't it...?" Nagito sighs, staring at his hand, "That's why he was perfect as a stepping stone to make you - the symbols of hope - shine even more." Then smiles around the room, " _That's_ why I did it all!"

"..." Unable to voice your opinion, you mutely search to meet Chiaki's eyes. But she always seems to be focusing on someone else.

" _S_ -Stop saying incomprehensible things!" Nekomaru shouts, throwing his arms up near his head.

"Enough... let's get to the vote! Let's kill this weirdo!" Fuyuhiko yells, his hand pulled into a tight fist.

"Please, Monokuma!!" Ibuki pleads.

" _W_ -Wait a second!" Mikan calls out meekly, pressing her hands together, "U...Um... _H_ -How should I put it... Um..." She places her hands over her chest and shuts her eyes tightly, "I...I was wondering if... Nagito really is the culprit..."

"YES!" you agree, much too loudly as she shrieks, "Sorry sorry sorry!"

"Um... what are you saying? He even confessed, didn't he?" Teruteru asks, his eyebrows knitted together.

She clears her throat, clasping her hands together again, "I...I know, but... um... There's something that concerns me a little..."

"If it only concerns you a _little_ , keep your mouth shut..." Hiyoko sniffs, "Having to watch your ugly face makes me all stressed and nauseous..."

"Eee...?! I...I'm sorry!!"

"Um... Should we not at the very least hear what she has to say?" Sonia takes mercy on the girl, smiling towards her.

" _B_ -But, we already know who the culprit is..." Teruteru insists, laughing nervously.

"Surely, there is no harm in hearing her out?" Gundam decides, making another cool pose, "Mark my words, timorous one! Your testimony will receive all due diligence. We, at least, are... sanguine... on the matter."

"Ghh, timorous? Sanguine?" you parrot, "At least give me a moment to store all these words...!"

"Um... the thing that concerns me is..." Mikan mumbles, shrinking away as she's spoken over.

Teruteru points out, loudly exclaiming, "We already _know_ the culprit is Nagito!"

"That's not true!" you object, "Nothing has been confirmed! Just let her talk!"

"Um... you see..." Mikan tries to continue, her lip quivering.

"He has even confessed." Peko says, her arms folded.

"B...But... um..."

"That bastard Nagito..." Fuyuhiko grunts, grinning to himself, "...stabbed Byakuya with the knife he had hidden!"

"Uu... I can't handle it, after all..."

"Look how much time that dirty trash wasted!" Hiyoko snickers, knocking herself on the forehead.

"In that case, let us move on and enjoy the vote," Gundam murmurs, voice muffled by the scarf.

"So..." you start, trying not to frown yet again, "You're all going to move on without letting her load?" Dropping your arms by your side numbly, you blankly stare at each of them, "That's _mean_."

Mikan wipes her eyes, looking at you oddly with some sort of encouragement, "Umm... The autopsy..."

"That knife probably wasn't the murder weapon... is _that_ what worries you, Mikan?" Hajime helpfully inquires, and she perks up a little more.

"...What are you talking about? That knife _has_ to be the murder weapon."

"But... judging from the wounds on Byakuya's body, the murder weapon should be about 5 millimeters in diameter..." she explains.

"5 millimeters in diameter? That's much thinner than a knife!"

"You had better be damn sure about this!! If you're wrong, I'll have you kidnapped and sold overseas!" Fuyuhiko threatens, making you and Mikan gasp.

"Eeee! I...I don't wanna go overseas!"

"Stop it!" you scold him, or at least try to as he simply screws up his nose in your direction, " _She_ of all people should be trusted when it comes to the _dea_ —the erm..." you falter, voice lowering, "The um... Body."

"In summary, what Mikan is trying to say is..." Nagito begins, "that since we can't prove that the knife is the murder weapon, we also can't say for certain that _I_ am the culprit." He lifts his hand and smiles.

" _W_ -What are you saying?! Are you telling us someone other than you is the culprit?!" Mahriru yells, looking not too enthralled over this revelation.

"I'm not saying anything. It was Mikan who said it."

" _I_ -I'm sorry!"

"Hey what?!" you exclaim, "Why are you apoligising for that?"

She shuts her eyes with a whimper, "I'm sorry!"

" _NooOoOo_ , don't be!"

"..."

"...Hey, Nagito," Chiaki begins, pulling her hoodie further over her face, "Are you, perhaps, still hiding something?"

" _T_ -There's more?"

"Like... maybe something happened between Byakuya and Nagito that we still don't know about..." she says, poking a finger toward herself.

"Who knows?" Nagito instantly deflects and you catch yourself making an angry face.

"...Can you please tell us?" you implore, still unable to look directly at him, "That would make things so very much easier, that's all."

"...Hrmph. What is left for him to hide?"

"..."

"Aww, that's so annoying!" Hiyoko scoffs, "He's gone all quiet now that things aren't going his way!"

"Like a child," you add, lips rising into a half-smile, "it's kinda like how a kid would behave, right?" Then sigh, "Not that _I_ know what a _real_ child acts like!"

"..." Chiaki tugs on her hoodie ever tighter.

"What did happen during that blackout? Hmmmmm.... Hmmmmm....." Ibuki presses her fingers to the side of her head, "Ah! When Ibuki crosses her eyes everyone here doubles!"

"Don't just give up like that! There's _lives_ on the line!"

"Eh? Whose lives are on the line?"

"When the hell are you going to get what the rules are?!"

"Akane, if we make a mistake we get punished!" you explain, smiling towards her, "I don't blame you for not understanding yet, it is all very confusing!" She nods and sticks a finger in her ear.

"No one could see anything during the blackout... Try as you might, the truth shall remain hidden in darkness." Nagito says, "Heh... Not a bad metaphor, coming from the likes of me, is it? The metaphorical ' _darkness_ ' is an analogue for-"

"No. You're wrong." Hajime interrupts him.

" ...Wrong? How am I wrong?"

"You said ' _the truth shall remain hidden in darkness_ ' ... but it won't." He continues, "We still have something that can illuminate the situation... so to speak." He inhales, evening out his breathing, "It's true that no one could _see_ anything during the blackout. But that doesn't mean no one could _hear_ anything...Isn't that right, Ibuki?"

Said girl lights up, eyes wide, "Is it?!"

" _D_ -Don't just forget all about it!" He stumbles, but picks himself back up, "Don't you remember telling us about it? You know, about who said what while the lights were out..."

"As expected from a ' _Super High-school Level Light Music Club Member_ '! That's amazing, being able to distinguish the voices like that!" Nagito praises, and you squint.

"...Why do you use the whole title?" You ask, tilting your head, "You can just say... _Musician_ , right?"

"Her face, brains, style and personality may be a failure, but at least she has good ears!" Hiyoko notes, hand over her mouth before she turns her attention to you, "And you're kinda stupid, but at least you're entertaining."

"Tahaaaa! Ibuki's been stabbed with the knife of a fine argument!"

"Oh, is that right?" You blink, tapping your chin, "If that's what my purpose is, then I accept!" You grin happily, then tilt your head down to give her a slightly more serious look, "But Ibuki is very pretty and stylish and smart, so I cannot ignore your words!"

"You'll defend _her_ ," Hiyoko taunts, gesturing to Ibuki, "but not yourself? Hehe, I see how it is!" She throws her arms up and beams, "Entertain me some more!"

"Okay!" you readily agree, matching her pose and expression.

"...But, listening to Byakuya and Nagito's words during the blackout..." Peko says, "It almost sounds like... Nagito was met with a counterattack from Byakuya..."

"Well, that would be because I was," He admits, examining his hand.

"Eh?"

"What's on your hand?"

His eyes meet yours, and again you can't read what expression he's making, "What?"

You lift your own hand and gesture to it, "You keep looking at it, is something on it? Is it hurting?"

"No, that's not... it," he replies slowly, then crosses his arms, "Well, I guess I should show my respect for Ibuki's talent... and make a small confession. The truth is, I was pushed away by Byakuya. Right there under the table."

"You could've knocked me off my feet!" you exclaim, "I was right there! I should've slipped under the table and saved Byakuya!"

"I think... It was too late by then," Chiaki says, "Don't feel bad."

"You were pushed away... by Byakuya?"

"When the lights went out, I quickly crawled under the table to retrieve the hidden knife, but..." Nagito exhales, gripping himself, "Byakuya, wearing his night-vision goggles, found me and pushed me away from the table." His eyes darken as his voice borders on eldritch, "That's right... I am the worst kind of incompetent fool... I couldn't even get to my own knife..."

You really can't help but shiver.

"After I was pushed from under the table, I joined the rest of you in your simple state of confusion," He continues, voice back to normal, "I'd lost my glow-in-the-dark landmark, and I couldn't tell where the electric cord was anymore. Then, after a while, the lights came back on and we found Byakuya's body under the table..."

" _W_ -Wait just a second!" Mahiru shouts, flicking her wrist in his direction, "So... Are you trying to say you're not the culprit?"

"Ever since we decided to hold the party, I've been planning...Hiding the knife and setting up the power outage... those were certainly parts of the plan..." He admits in regret, "But, unfortunately, my plan ended in failure, all because of Byakuya and his night-vision goggles...What happened after the plan failed... I do not know myself."

" _E_ -Ended up in failure...? So... you're saying you couldn't kill Byakuya?"

" _T_ -This time we really _are_ back on square one!"

"Back on square one?! After all that discussion?!"

"' _Meaningless_ '... There is no word that is more despair-inducing." Nagito says, much too enthusiastic, "But, you must not give up! You must face forward with hope in your hearts, and do your best! You are the symbols of hope! You can recover and rise up again, as many times as is required!"

... _meaningless, huh...?_ You stretch out your fingers, then fold them until your nails dig into your palm. _That's what I am in this program. So I will find a new role!_ Nodding firmly, you let your hand drop, _whether it be to help Chiaki in other ways or to provide entertainment!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I’m on a break, but I haven’t updated this forever. It is rushed, as if you can’t tell, so yeah <33
> 
> What’s your favourite trial from SDR2?


	10. [d e b a t e] 5/6

_"I'm Monomi! And right now, my heart is beating vewy fast!"_

_You squint, nose screwed up, "Huh?"_

_"Byakuya Togami, who was everyone's leader, has been killed... And they say one of my students is the culpwit!” Usami continues, sniffing with tears in her eyes._

_"Usami? What're you saying?" you blink, finger pressed to your chin, "Who are you talking to?"_

_Ignoring your questions, she lifts a paw, "No! I won't believe it! I will never believe it!"_

_"USAMIII!" you cry, hand balled into frustrated fists as she ignores or can't seem to sense your presence._

_"I mean... the only thing I believe in is my students. So... do your best, everyone! And remember – save early, save often! "_

_"..." shrugging, you nod along, "Alright everyone, make sure to save!"_

_“EHH?” She screeches, “(NAME)?! Why are you here?!”_

_“I... dunno?”_

* * *

"Well, then. What are we to do now?" Nagito asks, somewhat mumbling under his breath as he rubs his chin, "If we agree the knife wasn't the murder weapon, then there's no conclusive evidence showing I'm the murderer."

" _Y_ -You should keep your mouth shut! This is up for the rest of us to decide!" Mahiru shouts at him, still ruffled.

" _H_ -He said he was pushed away from under the table... but we don't know that for sure, do we?" Teruteru inquires, shuffling around.

"The pretentious one is correct. That some other weapon was used should not itself lift our suspicions..." Gundam says, arms crossed tightly while he looks about the room.

"I don't get it," you announce, tilting your head downwards, "why would he confess and then... lie?" tapping your finger to your cheek, you hum quietly, "wouldn't that... just make no sense?"

" _B_ -But... there is another reason Nagito can't be the culprit..." Mikan notes, pressing her hands togeter and waiting for approval of her input.

"Huh?! There's _more_?!"

"We all agree that the culprit killed Byakuya under the table..." she continues, "don't we?"

"Is that... a problem?" Sonia asks, hands held together at her front.

"Um... I thought Nagito was too _clean_ to be the culprit." She finally finishes, looking towards said boy nervously.

"Ah! Someone's finally complimenting me for my impeccable personal hygiene!" He spreads out his arms in a happy manner, smiling widely, "Even my mother never praised me for anything!"

"Uyu... Ah! No! That's not what I meant!" Mikan denies, making him fall into a blank expression.

"Well I..." you lift your voice, grinning in his vague direction so that it ends up _somewhat_ seeming as if you're smiling at the wall, "I think Nagito is very clean in that sense! Plus, he deserves more compliments, right?"

"What you're saying is that Nagito didn't have any blood on him, right?" Hajime asks in thought and you fall into the same expression as Nagito earlier did.

"..." you narrow your eyes, "Did you just igno—"

" _Y_ -Yes! That's it!" Mikan's joyful shout overshadows your low muttering.

"I mean... there was a lot of blood splattered all over under the table, wasn't there? There were even splatters of blood all over the tablecloth..."

"If he really had killed Byakuya under that table, it is strange that he did not get any blood on him..." Peko agrees.

"Oh? As you can see, there isn't any blood on me at all." Nagito points out, arms up.

"Me neither!" you exclaim, then kick your foot up, " _Buuuut_ I do have it all over my uh-mm." You drop it and squirm in discomfort, not feeling all that great.

"Maybe..." Akane starts, hand on her hip, "he simply used something to avoid the blood!"

"But, what is that ' _something_ '? Was there something that could be used to avoid the blood splatter...?" Nagito hums in thought, then looks to Hajime, "Oh... Actually, there was. Isn't that right, Hajime?"

"There was a tablecloth with blood on it in the storage room..." The brown haired boy says, "Is that what you're talking about?"

"If there was blood on it, that must be it! Nagito must have used it under the table to avoid the blood!" Fuyuhiko declares, fist outstretched.

"But, it was found in the storage room, was it not?" Gundam mutters, scarf pulled up around his chin, "Are we to believe he carried it there, _after_ the murder?"

You pat your hand around your neck, rather envious of his comfy looking scarf.

"Do you mean after the lights came back on? What did he plan to do if someone saw him?" Nekomaru grunts, arms crossed.

"That's right... that tablecloth was pretty large, so carrying it through the lodge in order to hide it..."

"Furthermore, it was enough trouble grabbing the knife in the darkness. Stabbing someone while wrapped in a tablecloth on top of that..." Nagito says, gazing at his hand before he blinks and shakes his head, "I don't think the most talented people in this room could do that... let alone someone at _my_ level."

"...Like a prank?" you ask, "If you put the cloth over your head, then that's a type of prank, right?" You tap your cheek, biting your lip, "Hm hm, wasn't it a ghost trick or something? It was quite popular a few years ago I think..."

Chiaki yawns loudly, "Yeah... It was common for a little while, but it didn't include stabbing someone..." Then she tilts her head in wonder, “I don’t think?”

You feel a little dizzy at her words and smile too widely, " _R_ -right! No stabbing allowed!"

"S...So... What does the tablecloth mean...?" Teruteru asks, sweating a little.

"..." Chiaki frowns, then holds the hood of her jumper on either side, "Perhaps... the culprit _didn't_ stab Byakuya under the table."

"What...?" you blank, a hand over your heart, "But I stepped in the blood right next to the table-!"

"...Eh?"

"Impossible." Gundam objects, settling his hard gaze on Chiaki, "That the victim died under the table is beyond question."

"With the blood splattered all over the tablecloth... It's clear that that's where Byakuya was killed..." Mikan adds.

"True. Byakuya was stabbed under the table," Chiaki agrees, pushing her hood back and grasping her backpack straps, "but... that doesn't mean that that's _where_ he was stabbed _from_."

"Frankly, that makes no sense at all!" Ibuki exclaims, swinging to the side.

"Yeah, I'm kinda confused!" You nod wildly, "Please elaborate!"

"Oh? Hajime..." Nagito notes, turning all attention to the other boy who stands there with a pensive look, "Your face suggests you just figured something out."

" _R_ -Really?! You got that... riddle thing she just said?!" Teruteru gasps, eyes wide.

"I feel as if I'm about to get it... but it's still vague..." Hajime says, face tight as he considers the options.

"It's a place that both is under the table and isn't under the table. That's the only thing that makes sense!" Chiaki continues, "You start with that notion... drop your preconceptions... and pick the right answer! ...I think."

"Please don't make it seem so construed!" You wail, clutching your head and closing your eyes, "I won't understand that way!"

"I've got it... the culprit stabbed Byakuya from the crawlspace under the floor, didn't he?!" Hajime then shouts, hand up as he reaches his conclusion.

" _H_ -He was stabbed through the floor?!" Mahiru echoes, eyebrows scrunched.

" _Eeeh_?" you stamp your foot, "What? What what what?"

"The old lodge's floor is full of gaps, and the carpet didn't reach all the way to that table," Hajime explains, "If someone pushed a weapon through one of those gaps... they could probably stab and kill Byakuya."

"In that case, the culprit would have to get into that crawlspace." Nagito folds his arms with a slight frown, "How did they do that? Where is the entrance?"

"I don't know... but I think I have an idea who might," Hajime says, pointing towards someone, "Hey, Gundam... you dropped your earring back at the big hall, didn't you."

"Earring?" you parrot, head whipping around to focus on the object dangling from his ear, "I want one like that! It's cool!" then you squint, "Wait..."

"You mean, the Devildog Earring?" Gundam inquires, eyes narrow.

Hajime tries to start again, "That earring-"

"...You _mean_ , the Devildog Earring?" Gundam interrupts quickly.

"...The Devildog earring... ended up under the floor, right?"

"It's... a bell," you deadpan, then pump your arms up and down, "That's cute! That's _so_ cute! What was the dogs name?!"

"This..." He pulls his scarf up, not meeting your eyes, "That is a matter for another occasion!" He decides, then addresses Hajime again, "Hmhmhm... Long and arduous was the search. By its end, I was ready to raze that accursed lodge to the ground..." Lifting his hands into a pose, he decrees, "But, just as the ancient prophecies foretold it would, the Devildog Earring found its way back to its rightful owner!"

"That earring... it's the one that's on your ear right now, isn't it?"

"Eh? So, you...?!" Teruteru exclaims, a little too shocked for something so insignificant. Or at least, it doesn't seem that important that you can go beneath the building, but you shrug it off easily.

"Gundam didn't have the earring during the investigation..." Hajime notes, "But just before the trial he had it back on. That means that during the investigation, he managed to retrieve his earring from under the floor."

"And so, it means he must know a way to get under the floor?" Peko summarises.

"Was it cosy?" you ask, very invested in knowing what was below there, "Was it comfy? Was it—?!"

"Hmhmhm... It is no wonder that your bead-like eyes could not perceive the truth..." Gundam hums, then laughs, "But you were wrong! The power of the Four Dark Devas of Destruction renders every obstacle insignificant!" On his hands his hamsters crawl out, heads bopping in curiosity, "Behold, the power of their Fourth Eye of Evil! Yes... Before this Evil Eye, visual chaos becomes order!"

"They're so _cuuuuute_!" you coo, "I wanna pet them! Even if I must die!"

"I don't... think you understand the real implications of that," Chiaki mumbles, "Don't say it so easily."

"They... are powerful beings that you cannot begin to comprehend with your limited knowledge..." Gundam chastises.

"Then... Can I learn more?" You ask, smiling hopefully.

"..." He frowns, "Perhaps once your strength has grown. It is extremely improbable even then, that you will weild enough power to be in their midst."

"What am I going to do?!" Hiyoko cries, clutching her head in distress, "Just listening to him speak is embarrassing!"

"So thats a yes, right?" You beam, clapping your hands in delight, "Thats a yes! Okay, okay okay, I promise I'll get stronger!"

Maybe you're mistaking it, but it almost looks like he smiles slightly.

"GRAAAAAH! EXPLAIN IT LOUDLY AND CLEARLY, LIKE A MAAAAAN!" Nekomaru demands, arms raised.

"So be it, then! I shall tell you! The answer to this mystery lies in the storage room!" Gundam declares, grinning with pride, "' _Mirage Silver Falcon_ ’ Cham-P of the Four Dark Devas of Destruction perceived it within the chaos..." He begins to explain, "He discovered the ' _Passage of Doom_ ' concealed among the piles of boxes... I then acquired a lighter from the supermarket, and stepped into the space, unafraid to face the danger ahead..."

"And there I claimed the spoils of my solitary battle... the Devildog Earring, mine again at last!" Laughing, he lifts his chin up, "Fuaahahaha! You know now the extent of my powers... Will you tremble in fear? Or kneel in reverence?"

" _Woooah_ ," you gasp, "They really are awesome! And you're awesome to have trained them so!"

Fiddling with his scarf, he mutters a reply muted by the fabric.

"You _sure_ you're not exaggerating just a teensy weensy bit?" Hiyoko inquires, "Aren't you just a breeder?"

"Anyway... it would seem he entered the crawlspace from the storage room."

"In that case, that's also where the culprit entered it from."

"It didn't look as though the lodges walls extend down there, so it wouldn't be very far from the storage room to the hall."

"Hmm... if they went by the storage room, that would explain why the tablecloth was there." Nekomaru decides, arms crossed.

"The culprit snuck into the crawlspace from the storage room, and sent the weapon _fwap_ into Byakuya," Ibuki says, fingers pressed to her head in thought.

"Hmmm... is that _really_ what happened?"

"It might not have been fwap... maybe something more befitting a large mass, like _splat_ or something?" she ponders, groaning as if she's straining to think.

"No, I wasn't talking about the sound effect..." Teruteru laughs nervously, sweat continuing to trickle down his face.

"If someone snuck into the crawlspace, that means they'd have had to slip out of the party, doesn't it? But... No one did... did they?"

"In that case, the culprit is someone who wasn't at the party at all," Hiyoko says, "All they had to do was wait under the floor the entire time."

"...Remind me. Who wasn't at the party?" Akane asks, chucking a look in your direction, "I kinda don't think you were there at first, but dunno." She sticks her finger in her ear and twists, “Too busy with the food.

" _I_ wasn't, but... I was standing guard at the lodge's entrance," Chiaki explains, "Monomi over there can confirm that... right?"

"Yes, Monomi over here can confiwm that!" Eager to have any input, she replies.

"I don't think it bears repeating, but... I was in the bathroom, and couldn't leave..."

"I was in the kitchen most of the time, but I carried food to the hall now and then."

"I just... um, er..." you falter, "I just wandered in at a bad time, the lights were off and I really got lost..." Chuckling anxiously, you scratch your cheek, " _Oops_...?"

"We need to explain... what happened with your visit later," Chiaki says, hand over her heart, "But I promise... it doesn't relate to this case, okay?"

"Um... so the person who wasn't at the party is..." Mahiru hums, "As far as I can tell from the pictures I'd taken... He's the only one left, right?"

"..."

"Yay! This proves it!" Hiyoko beams, arms waving in the air.

"Yay!" You chorus, copying her actions, "Why are we cheering?"

"T...This proves nothing! I'm not the damn culprit!" Fuyuhiko huffs, gritting his teeth so hard it looks painful.

"Aren't you...?" Mahiru scoffs, pointing at him, "Remind me who was it that said he won't hesitate to kill any of us?"

"Shut your mouth! I'll kill you!" He immediately yells in reply, hands balled into fists.

"See? There he goes again!"

"Oh, that sure hits the spot. Finally, some excitement I can approve of!" Monokuma sighs contentedly.

"During the party, the culprit..." Hiyoko looks off to the side with a disgusted yet malicious smirk, "Lay waiting under the floor, like a _cockroach_."

"In that case, not only did he have a perfect view from below..." Teruteru says, "He didn't have to go to the storage room when it was dark!"

"How about it, Fuyuhiko?!" Ibuki asks happily.

"Don't just decide to make me the culprit!"

"But, after the party started...No one saw you at all," Mahiru objects, "That means you have no alibi!"

"Being suspected is merely an axiom..." Gundam has his chin downwards with his eyes closed.

Gasping, you clap, "That’s a really cool word!"

"...No, Fuyuhiko did have an alibi," Hajime argues against Mahiru's statement, "Isn't that right, Chiaki?"

"Um... Oh, that's right," Chiaki mumbles, pressing her finger to her chin, "I saw Fuyuhiko after the party had already started, so he couldn't have been hiding under the floor since before the party."

"Why didn't you tell them that faster, you idiot?" Fuyuhiko mutters disdainfully, and you screw up your nose.

"Hey, thats mean!" you stick your tongue out in his direction, which he merely narrows his eyes at.

"Why didn't you tell them? And why were you loitering around the lodge anyway?" Mahiru asks in frustration.

"S...Shut up..."

"Maybe there's a secret passage from outside the lodge to the crawlspace, and he was scouting for it..." Teruteru suggests, rubbing his chin.

"Shut the hell up, asshole!"

"No... the crawlspace cannot be entered from outside," Gundam announces, "With the aid of the thoughtful one, I confirmed as much..."

"So, someone did sneak into the crawlspace from the storage room during the party, then?" Sonia holds her hands together, head tilted.

"It probably wasn't just during the party..." Mikan suggests, "but during the power outage..."

"Ah... If someone disappeared during the blackout, it's not so strange that we didn't notice." Chiaki agrees.

"But, walking from the hall to the storage room in the dark is like trying to make Eggs Benedict without eggs!" Teruteru points out loudly.

"He's right... I couldn't even find the office, which is right next to the hall..." Kazuichi admits, scratching his cheek.

"But, was it really impossible?" Hajime wonders aloud, "I think we should explore this possibility just a little longer..."

"In that darkness? It was definitely impossible to move to the storage room!" Ibuki declares, rubbing her head and messing up her hair.

"Somehow... it seems we're reaching a conclusion..." Nagito says, arms held out, "The culprit and the innocents... we will soon discover whose Super High-school Level is superior."

"We... are?!" you exclaim in disbelief, "Ugh, I don't get this at all!"

"So? just leave it to those with a brain!" Hiyoko giggles, smiling.

"Smart!"

"That's rude, Hiyoko," Mahiru scolds, arms crossed.

"Whatever..." she sniffs, averting her gaze childishly.

"The corridor was completely dark during the outage, right?" Teruteru says, "Moving all the way to the storage room in those conditions... That's like a bowl of kaisendon without any fish!"

"I wonder, is it really completely impossible?"

"Maybe they used a cord, like Nagito did?"

"Maybe they had their own night-vision goggles?"

"This is annoying, so I'll just go with my intuition..." Akane groans, "They used light. That would do it, wouldn't it?"

"What type of light?" You question, inching closer to the girl, "Candle? Electrical? _Fire_? Wait, can we light a fire or does that count as littering...?"

"It _was_ impossible after all..." Mikan whimpers, clutching her hands to her chest tightly.

"That's it! Akane is right!" Hajime shouts, "The culprit used light!"

"Oh! I was right?!"

"But, where did they get light from?" Ibuki asks, eyes wide as she stares at Hajime.

"They had a light source. Here, it's written right here in the equipment list for the kitchen," Hajime says, showing a list, " ...It's the portable stove."

" _P_ -Portable stove?!"

"You can turn on a portable stove even when there's no electricity, and you can even carry it around..." Hajime explais, "The culprit used that portable stove, and moved through the corridor all the way to the storage room!"

"I see... that portable stove is a plausible explanation, but your reasoning still has a hole in it." Nagito sticks a finger up, somewhat imposingly watching the other brown haired boy.

“What hole might that be? Please tell us all about it," Teruteru inquires, then laughs nervously, "Ah! I didn't mean that in a dirty way! I really didn't!"

"Denying it so loudly just makes you more suspicious!" Mahiru places both hands on her hips while glaring at him.

"Like... a charging port?" You suggest, "The portable stove would need power somehow, right? Then was it from batteries or cable?"

"Really... don't encourage him by talking about it more." Chiaki grimaces.

"So, Hajime! How about a little one-on-one with me?!" Nagito asks, "You've got that wrong. I wonder. Will you be able to crush my counterargument? Have you forgotten Kazuichi's testimony from before?" Nagito quirks a disapproving brow, "He said he couldn't reach the office. But, the light from the portable stove you claim was used... Would contradict that testimony." Then he smiles dangerously, "Or maybe, you mean to doubt Kazuichi's entire story?

"I have no reason to doubt Kazuichi's story!" Hajime refutes, "What are you even trying to say...?!"

"If Kazuichi failed to reach the office...That means the corridors were completely dark, doesn't it?" Nagito continues, "But, if someone used light in those pitch-black corridors... They would be seen by Kazuichi, wouldn't they? I mean, he was loitering there for a while."

"Nagito... have you forgotten?" Hajime hardens his gaze, "Or are you just pretending to?"

"...Eh? What are you talking about?"

"There was a ' _wall_ ' that can block light in that corridor," Hajime explains, arms resting by his side, "...The fire doors. If someone closed them, they could make a perfect wall blocking off the corridor. And that's not all... just past the fire doors the corridor quickly makes a sharp turn... So even if you only have a short opening... as soon as you round that corner you're out of sight."

"I see, so you noticed the fire doors. As expected from a Super High-school Level—" Nagito blanks, then laughs pitifully, "Oops... you still don't remember your own talent yet, do you?

"T...That doesn't matter right now...!" Hajime stammers, his confidence failing.

"I have no idea what the layout of the building was because I wasn't there," you add, "but it seems unlikely that you could see light through firedoors! Because they are made especially to keep minuscule parricles out, therefore..." You smile encouragingly towards Hajime, "it could stop light, too!"

He returns it appreciatively, then inhales deeply to regain his nerve.

"Nagito. What is the meaning of this?" Peko inquires seriously, "You are putting up a lot of resistance for someone who is not the culprit."

"You don't have to speak in such a scary voice. When you're mad, remember - take deep breaths!"

"Um... was her voice really... ' _scary_ '?" you grin and tug at your clothes anxiously, "I thought it was fine."

"Are either of you ever gonna shut the hell up?" Fuyuhiko snaps, directing his anger towards you and Nagito, "Do you need some help with that?!"

As you wilt, Monokuma surprisingly steps in, "Hey! I don't mind fighting, but not violent fighting that pulls in unrelated parties! And would you just decide on a culprit, already? You know, if this gets boring, I can just add a time limit..."

_No_... you shift and almost laugh, _he's not trying to help_ me _._

Nagito sighs, "Alright... So. Time for me to hand over the baton, is it?"

" _H_ -Hand over the baton?" Sonia covers her mouth.

"You've been participating in a baton race throughout the trial?" You shake your head, "That means you've likely lost!"

"..." he brushes past your words, folding his arms, "It's time for the real culprit, not a fake like me, to make their appearance!"

"Kh... I'd say you probably are the culprit," Nekomaru grunts.

"If that's what you think, I don't mind." He shrugs easily, accepting his apparent fate, "I'm going to accept any conclusion you guys make, as long as it's one all of you Super High-school Levels reach together."

Hajime is silent, thinking deeply before he addresses someone, “Teruteru... It was _you_ , wasn't it?”

“...” taking a moment to react, he pauses, “Eh, what?! What're you talking about?!”

“Teruteru is the culprit...? Really?!”

“ _W_ - _W_ -What're you saying?! There's no way it's me!” he denies, more and more sweat running off his face.

“This is just my theory right now, of course...” Hajime calmly states, “so, if you have any counterarguments, by all means, let's hear them.”

“ _C-C_ -Counterarguments...?” Teruteru fumbles, “W...Why're you even treating me like a culprit...?”

“Because... the portable stove that was used as a light was in the kitchen.”

“T...T... _That's_ why you think I'm the culprit?!” he cries, frowning, “That's just arbitrary! It's cruel! You're far too cruel!”

“Ah... Teruteru... This isn't like you at all,” Nagito sighs in disappointment, “You're in possession of a wonderful talent... You're a Super High-school Level Cook. You can't just break apart like that...”

“C...Chef... I'm a Chef...” he insists, vaguely more relaxed.

“If you succumb to these dubious aspersions, who's going to hold the culinary world together?”

“T...The culinary world...?”

“Yes! For the sake of the future of cuisine, pull yourself together, and face the accusations!” Nagito exclaims in encouragement.

“T...That's right... Yes, you're right...!”

You watch on in mute confusion, considering their exchange. Casting your eyes over to Chiaki, you blink in question. She merely purses her lips.

“By the way, what's an ‘ _aspersion_ ’?” Akane asks, “Does it taste good?”

“Asbestos is also excellent, you know,” Hiyoko snickers, “How about you try some later?”

Shaking your head wildly, you exclaim, “No! Neither of those things are edible!”

“Abestos is edible!” Hiyoko argues, her face scrunched up in mild irritation, “Its just the after effects that matter!”

“NO!” you stamp a foot down, “ _Dooon’t_! Don’t eat it!”

Hajime raises his voice over the rest of the class, “Nagito... Why are you poking your nose into this?!”

“Let's assume the culprit _did_ use light. And let's assume they used the fire doors to mask their actions...” he replies, “That would get them to the storage room and then allow them to crawl under the floor. But what then? The crawlspace is completely dark too. How did they manage to stab Byakuya?” Lifting his hand, he finishes, “Don't try to tell me they had the stove on as they stabbed. If they did that, the target would spot them, and the game would be up!”

“ _T_ -That's right... What do you have to say about that?!” Teruteru demands wildly.

“ _T_ -That's...”

“You can't answer, can you?” Nagito guesses, “After all... you never investigated the crawlspace yourself, did you?”

“We can ask Gundam!” Mahiru suggests, “He's actually been in there!”

“...Regrettably, nothing remained of the murderer's paraphernalia in that dark dimension...” Gundam answers, looking off to the side, “All was void, save for a ghostly phosphorescence around the blood pooled on the floor...”

“ _W_ -What?!” Mahiru exclaims, hand hovering near her mouth, “Did you say... there was light there?!”

“That sounds super-important!” Ibuki crows, and you nod in agreement.

“Its the first step in renovating it to be cosy!” you say in glee, hands rubbing against each other in anticipation, “Dim enclosed places are cosy!”

“Eh?” Hiyoko snorts, “What kind of life have _you_ been living?”

“Erm...”

“If there was a ‘ _glowing landmark_ ’, it was possible to move to that location even during the blackout.” Sonia affirms.

“And after they moved to the designated location,” Chiaki adds, “they could target what that landmark was attached to, couldn't they?”

“The landmark was the glow-in-the-dark paint the knife was painted with, wasn't it?” Hajime figures.

“Ah!” Nekomaru shouts, “Even in the dark, all they'd have to do is aim for the glow-in-the-dark paint!”

“Of course... the culprit didn't aim for a person...” Hiyoko clarifies, pressing a finger to her cheek, “They aimed for the paint when it moved!”

“That would be the moment someone took hold of the knife, wouldn't it!”

“So... the same landmark I prepared so I could find the knife was used by the culprit for his attack...” Nagito says, tone not matching the topic again, “I see... and that's why Byakuya, who took the knife, was killed...”

“But, if the culprit used that landmark, it would mean they knew about Nagito's plan, wouldn't it?” Chiaki points out.

“What do you have to say to that, Teruteru?!” Nekomaru cracks his knuckles, seeming to loom over the much shorter male even though they aren’t standing near each other.

“I... I know nothing...” Teruteru promises, pushing his fingers together while averting his eyes, “I really know nothing, I'm telling you...”

“In that case, how about I pose a question for everyone?” Nagito lifts a hand, smiling.

Since the revelation that he’d set all this up, you still can’t quite grasp what he’s thinking, and his actions and temperament do not help. But you resolve to start over after the trial, he’s your _classmate_ , after all. And you are here to help them.

“ _W_ -Why are you butting in again?!” Mahiru asks in agitation, “Give us a break, already!”

“Now, now! It's only fair to give everyone a chance to speak!” Teruteru says, brushing down his hair.

“ _You’ve_ barely said anything though...” you blink owlishly, “Speak up, speak up!”

“...Let's say Teruteru is the culprit. That would mean he went to the storage room during the blackout,” Nagito begins, hand on his chin, “In that case, what was that conversation Ibuki heard in the dark?”

“She heard Teruteru’s voice...” Peko questions, “in the hall?”

“I think that proves Teruteru was in the big hall during the blackout...” Nagito ends simply enough.

“Um...” you pipe up, lifting a hand, “But it didn’t... sound like he was ther—?”

“That's right! That's exactly right!” Teruteru interrupts in gratitude.

“But, when the lights went out you were in the kitchen, weren't you?” Mahiru inquires, “So... how did you get to the hall?”

“ _I_ -I thought the power outage was only in the kitchen, so I left it in a panic...” he answers, “The corridors were dark as well, of course... so I followed everyone's voices and used the walls as a guide to move.”

“Hmm... It's certainly possible to move from the kitchen to the halls by following the walls... but...”

“...Something stinks here!”

“You can tell that someone is lying by licking their sweat, can't you, Akane?” Teruteru says, “In that case, come here and lick me!”

“I don't wanna! You're greasy!” she deadpans, flicking her hand.

“That is inaccurate!” you exclaim, “Incorrect! Wrong! Fail! F-!”

“But, Ibuki definitely heard Teruteru's voice in the hall!” The girl herself objects, “Ibuki's entire character setup hangs on that!”

“That's right, Teruteru wasn't in the storage room.” Nagito looks at his hand, again, “He was in the hall. In other words... he can't have been the culprit.”

“ ...No, that's not what it means.” Hajime disagrees with certainty.

“W...Why...? Why do you keep making all these accusations against me?!”

“It's not like I have anything against you... I just...” Hajime panics, eyes wide.

“Hajime, you should be more confident in yourself.” Nagito reassures, somehow sounding passive-aggressive, “You're following the hope you believe in, after all...” At the others silence, Nagito continues, “That's it, Hajime... show me more of your hope. Your hope... against Teruteru's. Whose will prevail?”

“What?” You blank, eyebrows creased, “What do you mean by that? Neither of these examples are of ‘ _hope_ ’!” When he gives you an unreadable look, you shiver but hold your ground, “As long as I am here... I won’t accept _that_ as hope!”

“...” his eyes flicker, then he shuts them for a second before addressing the trial, “First, let me ask once more... Was Teruteru in the storage room during the blackout?”

“ _O_ -Of course I wasn't in the storage room! I was in a different place at that time!”

“Ibuki heard Teruteru’s voice! A beautiful voice, unfit for his face!”

“Maybe it was a recorded voice?”

“No, it was definitely a live voice!”

“As long as that testimony exists... You cannot deny I was at the hall!”

“The fact we heard Teruteru’s voice in the hall doesn't prove that he was actually in the hall.” Hajime declares.

“Eh? W...Why...?”

“Think about the floor in the hall... There are massive gaps all over it, aren't there...?” Hajime explains, “Which means, even if you spoke from under the floor, it would still sound like you were in the room with us.”

“...Abebabeba?!” He gasps.

“Abadabadoo!” you say in agreement, arms crossed with an oddly serious expression.

“ABABABDA!” Ibuki choruses, swinging her arms around.

Nodding erratically, you bounce on the spot, “Da!”

“Oh no! It’s _contagious_!” Hiyoko cries, clutching her head, “Don’t let it spread to me!”

“I see...” Peko sighs, never once glancing over towards you and Ibuki, “by speaking from under the floor, he tried to leave the impression he was there with us.”

“...Is that right, Teruteru?” Mahiru folds her arms, watching him with a hard look.

“ _W-W-W_ -Wait just a minute...”

“W...What's the meaning of this, Teruteru?!”

“I TOL' YA T' WAI' MINUTE!” He shouts angrily.

“That’s not the same language you were speaking before!” you point out, to which Ibuki quickly agrees.

“Y'IDIOTS'VE NO 'DEA WHA'YA TALK' 'NABOUT! I'S'IN TH'ALL TH'OLE TIME DUR'N 'BLACKOUT!!” He continues to yell, flinging his arm around towards Hajime,

Hiyoko lifts a finger, curiously asking, “...Where did you say you were born?”

“I'S BORN'N NISHI-AZABU N'RAISED'N MINAMI-AOYAMA!”

“Hey, everyone!” She cheers, “This guy's totally a liar!”

“If Teruteru was in the hall during the blackout,” Chiaki notes, “he should still have been there when the lights came back on, right?”

“Yep, that sounds right. He can't have been walking back and forth in the dark.”

“Eh? Was... Teruteru there at that time?”

“I...I's.... I's def'n'tly there...” he mutters.

“We can't leave this to faint memories and gut feelings, can we?” Nagito says, finger to his face, “I mean, a man's life is on the line.”

“...Life?” you blurt, head tilted, “What do you mean ‘ _life_ ’?”

“E's righ'! Yer' stup'd mem'rys're worth nuthin'!” Teruteru rambles, “Y'ain't 'sidin' nuthin like'at!”

“H...He's definitely lying! His speech's getting worse by the minute!”

“But... I am not at all confident about this. I have a feeling he was there... but I feel like he also wasn't...”

“Isn't there a way to tell for sure?!”

“...Maybe we should test his memory?” Chiaki suggests, her expression tight.

“Hey, y'there. Qui' sayin's wor'less'ings! 'Think y'c'n prov'wasn' there?!”

“...I think we can,”

“Gege...! You'gain?!”

“If you really was in the hall when the power came back on...” Hajime exhales heavily, then directs his full attention towards him, “...you should know all about what happened to Mikan, shouldn't you?!”

“W...Wha?!”

“Hiyu! Please don't remind me!” Mikan wails, “I...It's too embarrassing!”

“If Mikan is uncomfortable with this topic please divert it away to something safe!” You demand.

“No, this is an important question...” Hajime objects, “How about it, Teruteru! You should be able to answer this if you really were in the hall!”

“You can’t just call fan service ‘ _important_ ’ and casually move on!” You cry loudly, “That’s not good! Not good at all!”

“Eh? Eh? Uuuuum?”

“That unique way of falling is not something one can forget easily.”

“ _EXACTLY_ WHY WE SHOULD STOP TALKING ABOUT IT!” you fume, hands balled as you frown, “For Mikans sake!”

“Fuah... I'm sorry...” Mikan whimpers, tears pooling in her eyes, “I'm sorry for making you watch this deplorable sight!”

“Its not your fault!” you assure her, and she sniffs while wiping at her eyes. After, she sends you a tiny, trembling smile.

“H...How about it?! Can you answer, Teruteru?!”

“Um... um...” Teruteru mumbles, “Huh? Oh? That's peculiar... It seems I've forgotten all about it...!”

“Someone like you, forget this...?” Mahiru says in bland disdain, “I don't think so.”

“Um... but, nevertheless...” Teruteru falters, “Nagito! Say something!”

“No...” He sighs in disappointment, but his face still reads quite blankly, “I think you have no choice but to give up...”

“Wha... Give up...? What do you mean by... ‘ _give up_ ’...?”

“Teruteru... You're not the only one who's disappointed. I am too.” Nagito assures, still coming off as quite demeaning, “It's sad to see someone I respect reach the limits of their hope. I had such expectations... and you're dashing them.”

“Again, that is _not_ hope!”

“Nagito... What the hell's wrong with you?!” Hajime questions, irritated, “Why do you keep siding with the culprit and then turning on them...?!”

“ _W-W_ -WAI'SEC'N! QUI'CALL'N ME'CULPRIT!”

“Eh? But it's decided already, isn't it?”

“ _D...D-D-D-D... Y-Y-Y_...” Teruteru stammers, “Y'ST'AIN'SCOVAW'THAM'DWEP'N'S!”

“That's it.” Hiyoko grips her head and groans, “I can't understand anything anymore!”

“He seems to be saying you still haven't discovered what the murder weapon was!” Usami translates from her position in rope.

“You understand him?!” Ibuki gasps.

“But, that's a sad qwarrel... It's too much...” Usami sniffs, tearing up.

“AAAAAAAA'F'IMAC'PW'T'NT'LMWHA'WE'NW'S!!”

“Hey, Monomi... Translate it for us, would you?” Mahiru asks.

“U...Um... ‘ _If you think I'm the culpwit, then tell me what the weapon was_ ’,”

“The weapon...” Nekomaru grunts, “can't have been the knife, can it?”

“Judging from Byakuya's wounds...” Mikan explains, “it was a thin sharp object about 5 millimeters in diameter...!”

“And what is more, to have inflicted such mortal wounds through the floor, it cannot have been shorter than 50 centimeters...”

“...Is the weapon really important at this stage?”

“IIIIII'SRIIIII'S!!”

“I wanna go back to the other language...” you sigh sadly, letting your hands drop to your side.

“‘ _It is. It weally is_.’”

“Okay, I get it. Let's think what the weapon could be.”

“I'LEE'V'N'YA!!”

“Um... ‘ _You guys don't even know, do you_?’.”

“HOW do you understand?!” you ask in amazement, staring at her up above, “It’s honestly incredible!”

“That's one confusing dialect!”

“...That's it.” Hajime decides, “The murder weapon was a steel skewer, wasn't it?!”

“Eh?! A steel skewer?!”

“Before the party started, Byakuya had a conversation with Teruteru when he was looking for dangerous items...” Hajime begins, “There was a skewer missing on the list. Is _that_ missing skewer the weapon?!”

“That skewer fits the parameters perfectly!” Mikan gasps.

“Oi, Teruteru! Where did you hide that skewer?!”

“A...aa...aaaaaaaa...” he stutters, “Avri'lavin!”

“‘ _Avril Lavigne_ ’!”

“ _WHAT_?!” You shake your head in utter confusion.

“Eh?! Just like that?!”

“He's just trying to confuse us by saying nonsense!” Fuyuhiko growls, fist clenched as tight as ever, “You dumped that skewer somewhere on the island, right?!”

“No, it is against the field trip rules to litter.” Usami disagrees, “If someone bwoke that rule, loud sirens would have gone off all awound the island...”

“Loud sirens...? It's only littering! Bit harsh, don't you think?!”

“Also... Teruteru didn’t leave the lodge even once.” Chiaki adds, “I was guarding the entrance, so I can tell.”

“In other words... the skewer must be hidden somewhere inside the lodge...”

“It's probably somewhere back in the kitchen!”

“Maybe it’s being used as a cane!” you suggests, miming walking around with it, “Kinda useful, right? Oh uh...” you tense up and swallow, “Except the um... blood on it might ruin the outfit a little...”

“Teruteru... How about acting like a man and confessing?”

“O...O...O...O...Oooooooo...” He runs his hands through hair intensely, “UNC'RTULODFUMPK'NSSK'URDK'OPTHO'LMEUTHSSKUT!”

“‘ _Uncultured bumpkins should keep their mouths shut_!’.. is what he seems to be saying.”

“It seems we have to do something to stop him after all...”

“D'AMNETHD'CKAN'TH'CK!!”

“‘ _I am not hiding anything_ ’... probably!”

“Y'HAV'NEID'WHOLOTH'WOAP'N'S!!”

“You hid the skewer... inside that meat-on-a-bone, didn't you?!” Hajime inquires, but it basically means he’s figured it out.

“W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w!” Terteru cries, then calms and fiddles with his hands, “W...What are you talking about...? There's no way I'd hide a weapon somewhere like...”

“H...How is that even possible?! It's inside food!”

“Yeah... Byakuya and I also thought it was impossible...” Hajime notes, “and _that's_ why we overlooked it. Thinking another way... Inside the food was the only place we didn't check. It's the only possibility left for the hiding place... And of all the dishes on offer, the only one big enough to hold a long metal skewer...” Hajime takes a breath, then strikes the final blow, “...is that huge meat-on-a-bone!”

“I...IS THAT TRUUUUUUUUE?!” Nekomaru shouts, arms outstretched.

“I...I exercise my right to remain silent!”

“You don't have one!”

“I...In that case, we must check ourselves!”

“Yes, let's eat that delicious-looking meat. If we find the skewer there... bingo!”

“Alright! Monomi, Monokuma, anyone – go grab us that meat and bring it here!”

“...” you shift around, “Are you all just... fine with eating it even though it might have a weapon in it?”

“One minute... I'll destroy that whole thing in just one minute!” Akane laughs, wielding her arms threateningly.

“ _W-W-_ Wait just one moment! Time out! Time out!”

“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!! BRING THAT MEAT OVER HERE NOW!!”

“Ah... About that...” Usami mutters.

Where Monokuma once sat is an empty seat, not going unnoticed by the whole class.

“Huh...? Where did Monokuma go?”

“I'm right here...!” He says, sat eating the meat, “Om nom nom... I decided to get ahead of the game!”

“GYAAAA! THE BEAR IS EATING MEAT!”

“That’s _normal_!”

“ _S-S-S-S-S_ -Stop! Really, stop right now!”

“Oh? There's something inside this meat...” Monokuma pulls something long and shiny out, waving it around, “Look what I found!”

“T...That's...!”

“It's a steel skewer, isn't it...?”

“It kinda looks like a bone,” you mumble, squinting.

“Ah, he made the bone into a grip,” Chiaki points out, staring right at it, “That's pretty elaborate.”

“It is a Sword of Doom, with a bone hilt and a meat sheath!” Gundam declares, throwing his arms out, “He used it to bring catastrophe upon Byakuya!”

“I expected nothing less from Teruteru!” Nagito praises, “This is definitely a fantastic weapon, appropriate for a chef!”

“Should a chef really _have_ a weapon?” You ask, tapping along your arms, “I mean... It just doesn’t make that much sense? Unless you’re sought after by criminals, I suppose?”

“Or he mistook reality for Battle Chef Brigade!” Chiaki says, lifting her finger up in acknowledgement, “Its not... too hard to do that, I think. For me at least...”

“Y...You're wrong... I'm not the culprit... I'm not someone...” Teruteru mutters, “who would ever kill anyone...I get it! It's all your doing! You're just trying to frame me!”

“Sigh... this is disheartening...” Nagito exhales slowly, “Struggling like this is unbecoming for a Super High-school Level student like you... You can't call that ‘ _hope_ ’ at all, can you?”

“Maybe he can’t because it _isn’t_ hope?” You fold your arms and frown.

“Hey, Nagito...” Chiaki calls, “I'm sorry, but can you please stop talking?”

“Y'ULOARR'FUNSTEBS'VAGOSWHEENRY'ATINST'INLOCH'ULANKS!”

“‘ _You're all a bunch of savages who only eat at chain restaurants_!’”

“Y...You can stop translating now...” Mahiru tells her, smiling halfheartedly, “I think we all get the general idea!”

“OV'LYEN'JUCHSK'TTH'BUNG'P!!”

“We have to bring this to an end... don't we?” Chiaki asks, then places a hand to her heart, “Let's lay out our entire case... We'll cover the whole incident, start to finish, with no room left for doubt...”

Hajime composes himself, then shouts, “I have no choice!”


End file.
